I Hate This Part
by DarlingDisaster
Summary: What if everything you've ever been told was a lie? What if one day someone told you you weren't who you thought you were? What if you were forced to face the fact that sometimes, truth can be stranger than fiction? I'm Elle. This is my story.
1. Chapter One: Acting Albus

There are times when I think my life is a series of awkward events that never stop coming. Tripping up the stairs, thinking faster than I speak, you name something embarrassing, I've probably done it in the last month. However, there are times when, out of the blue, something marvelous happens. Today was definitely one of those days. But here I am, getting ahead of myself. Let me begin at how it all started this morning...

Seriously, the alarm can _not_ be going off at six AM on a Saturday morning. Oh, but it is, I think to myself.

I jump out of bed and race to my desk, where _Tik Tok is_ blaring out of the tiny speakers on my cell phone. Stupid Daily alarms. Stupid alarms in general. It's the first day of summer, and my sub-conscious is screaming at me to go back to sleep. I grab the phone and press the "off" button on the screen, and when the alarm screen goes away, my phone goes back to it's original screensaver: a picture of three girls, each of them extremely different, lined up in front of our high school's brick exterior.

I literally just changed that not even twenty four hours ago. After taking picture after picture with our friends as commemorative tokens for the summer, the three of us went out to lunch with our friends. Serena flipped through the pictures one by one, and finally found one she liked, urging me to set it at my screensaver. Sure, she looked good. Most of us did. Except me.

Don't get me wrong, I'm a confident girl. God gave me hips, and an ass, and by golly I was gonna work it. But clearly, no one ever taught Mrs. Carter, our Vice Principle, what the words "flattering angle" meant. So there I stood, Elle Major, double chins and all.

Before this little gem of a picture was my background, it'd been the same for months. I unlock my phone again, scrolling through my picture to find the quote.

"Class is not defined by our circumstances. It's our reaction to those circumstances that define who we are." The only quote I've ever found that basically completely describes my life. It makes me so _angry_ when people blame the situation they're in for their wrongdoings. Maybe it's because I'm a control freak, but I refuse to let anyone else's decisions dictate the way my life is run.

Ok, so I'm up. Now what do I do? There's no way I'm going back to sleep after-

_Can't read my, can't read my, no he can't read_-

I pick up my phone and look at the caller ID before answering, bopping my head along to the Lady Gaga.

"Alarm wake you up too?" I ask Penny before she gets a word in.

"Elle, I'm so tired; I look like a freaking zombie. I just looked in the mirror and about had a heart attack." I laugh, having a hard time picturing Penny looking anything but perfect.

"It's probably just post-exam relapse. That's what happens when you opt for all AP courses." I had been regretting my decision to go the AP route since the third week of the semester, but by then, it was too late to transfer out. Every single course we took was advanced. Of course, Serena, with her angelic voice and figure that looks good in crushed velvet, decided to take Honors Choir as her elective. Penny and I went the opposite route and did Creative Writing and Choral Composition, a musical composition class. "Is it one of those emergency makeover days? You know I love doing that." I can practically hear her rolling her eyes.

"Nah, I think we need a salon day after this hellish week we've all had." I grin and stand up.

"I was gonna call Serena anyways, I wanted to make sure she's up."

"You know I can just walk down the hall and wake her up?" she says sarcastically. I shrug, forgetting that Penny isn't with me. Serena and Penny are fraternal twins who couldn't be more different. The only real claim to relation they have is the perfect, glossy McAllister hair, and their half English accents derived from their parents.

"I know, but it's more fun to wake her up on the phone!" We both laugh and say goodbye and I scroll through my recents, touching the screen where it says Serena's name. "Morning starshine, the Earth says hello!" I respond to her raspy "Hello?"

"I'll show you where to shove that starshine in a second…" she mutters into the phone. I laugh. Serena is one of my more, shall we say, outgoing friends. She can be a bit crude. As can I, of course, but I'm a little more reserved than she is. My mind is privately in the gutter. Her sister, on the other hand, only opens up to us. To everyone else, she's this shy little bookworm that never really makes jokes. She gets them, yeah. But she, like me, prefers a good book as supposed to a good party or make out session (which Serena prefers). But she's actually really outgoing outside of school. She'll chat with someone who starts a conversation with her, no matter what.

The two of them, as different as they can be, are like my sisters. Our parents, also best friends since they were kids, went to school together in the UK. They moved to Louisiana together when we were all newborns, and we haven't been back since. That bonded the three of us together; it was the weird slightly-British-speaking kids against the world, and boy, was that world mean.

"Ahhhh, the light, it burns!" I scream into the phone when I flip on the light in the bathroom. It actually does hurt, just not that much. I just want to make sure that Serena's actually awake. She doesn't scream, nor do I hear the loud _thud_ of her falling out of her bed, so I assume it's good as I look in the mirror. "Ahhhh!" There's that thud.

"What the hell, Elle! I just fell out of my bed." I giggled at her rhyme.

"Sorry, I saw my hair. I look like I belong in the _Thriller_ video."

"Oh god."

Eight hours later, Penny, Serena and I are all walking out of Shelton's Salon and Day Spa, arm in arm, careful not to screw up our freshly manicured fingers. "You were right, Elle, that's exactly what I needed," Penny says as I pull my phone out of my purse and start dialing Ralph, our Driver's number. Ok, so let me set the record straight; just because I have a driver does not mean I am filthy rich, like most of the people at my school think. My dad is a lawyer for some of the wealthiest families in Louisiana, so yeah, we live comfortably. But Ralph lives on our property; his wife, Maria was my Nanny growing up, and he helps navigate my dad to business meetings and my mom to clients. They mostly help with driving me, since I can't yet, and cooking food, when Maria's not tending to their 6-month-old, Carson. It's one of the things you kind of need when your underage and both your parents work full time, or have a busier social life than you do.

Like tonight; they're having dinner with Uncle Tim and Aunt Lindsey, Penny and Serena's parents. Ralph picks up after three rings.

"You girls ready to come home?" he asks. I can hear a crunching sound. He's eating in what sounds like tacos in the car. I roll my eyes and look at the girls, who are inspecting each other's nails.

"I think we wanted to go see a movie over at the Rave. Right?" We nod in unison.

"Ok, I'll be there in ten." We all wait for the short time, talking about what plans we have for the summer ahead. My cousin Neville was coming to town, and he was planning on staying with us for at least a few weeks since he, too, was from the UK. Just as the girls beginning to detail their upcoming trip to Florida, Ralph pulls up, and the three of us pile into the car.

"To the Rave!" I call, sticking out my hand into the front seat like a valiant knight. The twins laugh, and Ralph just rolls his eyes as usual as we drive the whole two miles to the theatre. Piling out, we tell Ralph to pick us up at eight, and that we'll call his cell and tell us where to meet him. The theatre is as packed like it always is, and we patiently wait in line, buying our tickets, then popcorn and drinks, and then get our tickets torn. We're five minutes late for Prom Night, which has been on a second run here for about a month. I quietly sneak into a row, followed by the girls, just as the opening credits start rolling. Sipping our Dr. Pepper, we watch the first thirty minutes of the movie. I see Penny get up out of the corner of my eye, and about ten minutes later, I get a text on my phone. While watching the Psycho kill Claire, I read the text.

Penny: _I'm not feeling so well, can you have Ralph pick us up? So sorry!_

I text back as quietly as possible, while avoiding Serena's gaze.

_Sure! Hope you're okay ):_

I motion for Serena to get up, and she does, giving me a look before filing out of the row and into the hall.

"What the heck?" Serena says, taking a long sip of her drink. My phone vibrates in my pocket again, and I hold up a finger as I text back a reply.

Papa Ralph: _Out front. Is everything ok?_

_P's sick. Home early, I think._

"Penny's got cramps, Serena. Ralph is picking us up early." She bites her lip and says nothing as we go to meet Penny in the restrooms.

"Penny, you ok?" Serena calls out as we walk into the restroom.

"Noooo." The voice is shaky, and I follow the sound to one of the stalls in the back. We knock, and Penny peers out. Her long brown hair is somewhat messy, and her DKNY tee shirt is tucked into her jeans in the front.

"Oh, shit," Serena mutters, wrapping one arm around her sister, and reaching into her purse for an emergency Midol with the other.

"So are we going back home?" Ralph asks when we finally reach the car. Penny shakes her head from the back seat, where she and Serena are sitting. I sat in the front to give them more room.

"William and Marie are at the house, so we can just go there," I tell him, and he nods, putting the car into drive and rolling out of the lot. When we pull up in the front of my house, we just get out and say good night to Ralph, who walks the other direction towards the small cottage where he and his wife live on the property.

"…but weather or not you yourself think it's important…"

We hear bits and pieces of a conversation as we walk into my house, and put our purses on the table by the door, hanging up our coats. Penny and Serena both give me a look that says "Who is that?" but my only answer is a shrug. I hear my parents, the soft voices of Serena and Penny's parents, and then an unknown voice. He has an accent like my parents, but it sounds older and worn. Almost like my grandpa's did before he passed a few years back.

"…it is of the utmost importance that you consider the consequences of not coming back. You know what has been foreseen, as do so many-" The voice stops as we reach the doorway to the living room, and I spot a royal purple jacket with gold stars stitched to it, a matching cap donning a white-haired head. "I believe we just received some unexpected visitors." All five of the adults turn towards the doorway at the same time, and I can hear Serena and Penny sucking in deep breaths. I'm not sure if it was because they had just been caught sneaking around by their parents, or the fact that there was an Albus Dumbledore impersonator sitting in my living room.

Okay. So let me make something clear, since I haven't mentioned it before now. The three of us are book nerds. To the n-th degree. Like my entire room is lined with shelves of YA and Fantasy novels. In Creative Writing, Serena and I wrote stories so long they would give Stephen King a run for his money. And when it cam to Harry Potter - oh, nothing came between us and our HP.

Maybe because we'd been forbidden to read it by our overtly Christian parents until recently, but those books were like our drug. While most kids could spew out what had happened on the previous week's episode of _Hannah Montana_, Serena, Penny and I were discussing fan fictions and watching the movies, quoting every line.

So when we walk in, and see some old guy with a long beard and purple robes, two options pop into my head: they're hiring someone as entertainment for my 15th birthday, or one of their friends has turned to secretly LARPing on the weekends and they forgot to tell us.

Either way, I smile briefly before looking at my parents.

"What, are you interviewing actors for my birthday party or something?" All four of the younger adults stare at us with wide eyes, and none of them even smile at my joke.

"I thought you girls were still at the movies?" My mom's voice has a questioning tone to it, but Serena answers before me.

"Penny got sick. Ralph brought us home." She crosses her arms, and I help Penny sit down on the loveseat near the door. "What's going on here?" she asks them. There we go. Plain as day, straight forward. That's my girl. I look back at the weird guy sitting on the couch and see that he's even got a pair of half-moon glasses sitting on the edge of his nose. I'm tempted to let out a giggle.

"Whoever this is," I start, pointing towards the man, "he's sure got impersonating a pre-Half-Blood-Prince Dumbledore down to a science." And I seriously shouldn't have said that. My parents glare at me, my dad giving me a look that says "we'll talk about this later." Like I said, they don't even know I've read the series, much less that's I've got a collection of hand made wands stored in a secret compartment under my bed frame.

The man stands up, and extends his hand towards me.

"I don't believe you'll remember me. It's been quite a while since I last saw any of you. My name is Professor Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." I actually do giggle as I shake his hand, and Penny and Serena crack smiles as he does the same to them.

"Albus." Aunt Lindsey's voice has a chastising tone to it, and I look over at her, and then back to my mom.

"All right then, you four have had your fun. Who is this, really?" I gesture back at him again, and even yank on the hem of his jacket for added effect. Mom and Dad glare at me a second time and the guy smiles slightly.

"You guys don't honestly expect us to believe that this is Professor Dumbledore," Penny says with a slight eye roll.

"He's fictional," Serena emphasizes. I look at both of them and nod.

"And besides, what would Albus Dumbledore be doing here, in the middle of nowhere, Louisiana, at our house?" All four adults look as though the have no idea what to say, but I see the weirdo shift out of the corner of my eye.

"I believe some proof is needed in order to ensure that I am who I say I am."

"You think?" This guy is good. He's got the slight Scottish accent down, too. But seriously, our parents think we're that dumb?

"Ask me anything. I can guarantee that I can answer any question you propose."

"Isabella, you shouldn't know anything about this man," my mom says, using my full name. She only does that when she's super pissed. Uh-oh. I look at her, and she's got her arms crossed too. I fold mine tighter, and stand my ground.

"Mom, I've been reading those books since we started in Haltom. I know it was wrong, but I did. Now's not the time." I look back at the guy and raise an eyebrow. "Ready."

"I believe the phrase 'Bring it on' is quit appropriate for this situation." I roll my eyes again and questions start popping into my head faster than I can say them.

"Full name?"

"Albus Wulfric Percival Brian Dumbledore."

"Hometown?"

"Godric's Hollow."

"Siblings?" His eyes shine slightly.

"Aberforth." I raise an eyebrow. "And Ariana." I huff, thinking for a second.

"Patronus?"

"Phoenix." Bam it. He was really good.

"Ok, so you know some stupid trivia," I say, tossing my hair. "Doesn't mean you're a wizard. Magic doesn't exist. It's just fiction." Serena and Penny nod, agreeing with me, and everyone looks to see what the guy has to say. He's pulling something out of the pocket of what I now realize isn't a jacket, but a robe. I should have known it was a wand. He points it vaguely in the air and before anyone can say anything, a light blue mist shoots out of the end. Serena, Penny and I stare wide eyed, while the adults seem nothing if not a little pissed off.

The mist floats for a bit before landing in the shape of a wispy phoenix, and before it's there for ten seconds, it disappears.

"Holy crap," Penny says. I look at her, and she looks like she's just been told that her favorite pair of Prada heels at the mall were on sale. I blink a few times, before slowly sitting on the couch behind me. This can not be happening. Albus Dumbledore is a fictional character in a book series. Magic isn't real. It can't be. That's what I've been told my entire life. But this….this seems like magic. There were no wires, and no mirrors from what I could see.

Part of me, in my head, wants to be suspicious of this still. The three of us have spent years wanting this world to be real - to be a part of something fantastic, magical. But the fact that it could actually happen? That scared the shit out of me.

"How…how is this possible?" I ask, looking up at him. He smiles meekly and sits back down.

"I assume you three are familiar with the Harry Potter series by JK Rowling?" The three of us nod, avoiding our parents' glares. "Well, as strange as it may sound, that is the world I come from. That world that you all assume is fiction is in fact, not."

"But…" Penny looks confused and sits on the arm of the couch next to me. Serena stands next to her. "But if it's real…." She trails off, obviously as overwhelmed as I am.

"If it's real, then how come the Ministry allowed JK to write about it?" Serena asks. Dumbledore smiles at her.

"You three know more than I thought. You're well versed in this whole thing." He adjusts his glasses. "The Ministry of Magic did try to intervene when Mrs. Rowling first published the books. They used time turners to try and keep her from ever writing, but her premonitions kept coming back."

"Premonitions?" I ask.

"Maybe we should just start from the beginning," Uncle Tim proposes. I nod.

"That would be good."

"Ok," my mom starts, taking her seat back. "I'm just going to assume you've read the entire series?" I nod again.

"Penny and Serena have too." The both look down to avoid glares.

"So, you three know about the prophecy made about Harry before he was born."

"Yeah. Didn't Trelawney predict that?" Serena asks. Dumbledore smiles and nods.

"She did, my dear. But what only a few know is that on that same day, she made another prophecy. A prophecy about a little girl born the same day as her kin, towards the close of the seventh month." Serena and Penny both look at me, eyebrows raised and wide eyed.

"Wait, me?" I ask, pointing to myself. "She made a prophecy about me?" Dumbledore nods again.

"It said, '_And there shall be another child. And she shall be the key to the Chosen One prevailing over the Dark Lord. Another child born as the seventh month closes, on the day of her wizarding kin's birth_'."

"What, no magic crystal ball?" I ask sarcastically, rubbing my temples to fight the migraine beginning to build in my head.

"Isabella," my mom chastises. Dumbledore smiles again.

"There is. I just did not have time to retrieve it from the Hall of Prophecies." He winks at me, and I can tell that Serena and Penny catch it too. They smile.

"Ok, so keep going." Dad coughs.

"Well, those prophecies were made a few months before both of you were born. Once we knew that Harry was the Chosen One, once…" He trails off, looking teary eyed. Uncle Tim cuts in.

"Once Lily and James were gone-

"And Alice and Frank," Mrs. McAllister adds.

"We knew that you were the only possibility for the second prophecy." Uncle Tim spoke as though he hadn't talked about it in a long time.

"But I don't get it," Penny starts. "The prophecy says 'wizarding kin.' Elle's not a witch, and she sure as hell doesn't have any wizarding family." At once, all four adults look down, and I can see them blushing.

"You have got to be kidding me." I cross my arms again. "All of you? All of you are wizards?" They all look up and nod, and I roll my eyes. "Well, I guess I should have figured that out from the beginning. But who's the prophecy talking about when it says kin?" My mom looks at me.

"Well, you're the genius here. Who's got the same birthday as you? Who else was born at the close of July?" She's being sarcastic, but I know who she's talking about immediately.

"Wait a second…" I trail off. This can't be true. I so should have connected it earlier. "Neville?!" I stand up. "Neville, my dorky cousin? He's the Neville from the book? Neville Longbottom?" Dumbledore smiles.

"The one and the same."

"So you guys have read the books?" Serena asks.

"No, we haven't," Aunt Lindsey answers.

"Unfortunately," Dumbledore starts, "Only a few of us wizards can actually read the books. That is part of the story." He pauses. "After Lily and James were killed, your parents knew it was dangerous. Aside from all of your parents," he gestures to all four adults behind him, "being in the Order, Renee and Aaron knew that with you in a prophecy having to do with the Dark Lord, you were all in danger. And after Frank and Alice were hurt, they all decided to relocate here." My parents were smiling again, like a fond memory had passed them by.

"Once Mrs. Rowling's books came out, I knew that they weren't just books. They spoke of our world, of our people. Mrs. Rowling predicted the future. I do not know why or how, but some how she predicted what would happen to the wizarding world." He pauses again, and then looks me square in the eye. "Almost a month ago, Miss Major, Mrs. Rowling contacted me saying she had had another prediction. This one of a world not ruled by good, but my evil. Lord Voldemort was never killed, and Harry in stead was captured and slaughtered. And Mrs. Rowling believes that it is because someone was missing from the story. The first time she told it, there was an invisible hand at work. One Mrs. Rowling didn't see, and therefore didn't write about. But she's seen the world without that person, and it's darker than any of us could imagine." He still stares, and Penny and Serena gape.

"I'm the guiding hand?" I ask, incredulous. Dumbledore nods, smiling. "So all of that crap happens because of….me?" I ask. "Because I don't help Harry?"

"We believe that's correct, Ms. Major." Dumbledore smiles. "Soon after they were published, I cast a spell over the books. Any wizard or witch, or any person who has knowledge that our world is real, who picks up those books, merely thinks it is the history of the Bathtub." Leave it to Dumbledore to cast a spell on the entire series. "No magical folk can read it. But because you were raised to believe that our world is purely fiction, you three, along with most Muggles, can still read the books."

"So if I pick it up now," Penny starts, "I would just think it was some boring book on the history of the bathtub?"

"Precisely." Dumbledore adjusts his glasses again. "Now is there anything I've forgotten?" He looks back at the parents.

"Uhm…How about why you're here? It can't be just to tell us a story. There's got to be a reason you're showing up after all these years." Serena spoke like she knew what she was saying. He looked back at me.

"I've come for the reason I told you. The world Mrs. Rowling newly predicted, where many die, friends, foes, bystanders, and where the wizarding race plummets into a time of fear and darkness, even more so than what's been foretold in the books, that world will happen unless Ms. Major here comes back to England and helps Mr. Potter."

"But," I start, "If I'm thinking correctly, Harry's about to start his fifth year." I look back at Penny.

"That means that Voldemort is already back. And he's already killed…" She doesn't finish her sentence. Cedric has always been Penny's favorite character. And she thinks Robert Pattinson was unbelievably cute.

"It means that it's time to start helping," my mom says, drawing our attention towards the adults. I stare, shocked, and she's smiling. "It's time we go back to England. There's no way around it." The McAllister's nod, and Serena and Penny stare at their parents.

"Why didn't we know before?" Penny asks. "I mean, with everyone else, every kid, there's always something…"

"Like Harry and the glass at the zoo," I finish, understanding what she's getting at. "We haven't had anything 'strange or unexplainable' happen. Ever. Never mind how much we've all wanted it to."

"That's partially my fault," Dumbledore says, glancing at us then our parents. "Before your parents left England, we made the mutual decision that if you three knew of your powers, knew of our world, you'd want to come back. And at the time, we thought it to be too dangerous to even think about." He pauses. "So your parents asked me to perform a binding spell on you. You magic is stored in my office at Hogwarts, and only I have the ability to give it back to you." The three of us stare at them in awe and anger.

"You took our powers away?" Serena sneers at our parents.

"It was what we thought was best," her mother cries, looking like she's gonna start crying again. I step in, trying to mediate.

"How do we get them back?" I ask, distracting Serena long enough.

"Before the school year starts I will meet with each of you in private and give them back. You won't be able to use them much, but I have pulled some strings with the Ministry as far as underage magic goes. You three are going to have to catch up-and fast-if you want to be able to keep up with the other students. Not that I think that's going to be a problem." He smiles at us, his eyes twinkling and then jerks back, like he's remembered something, and hands each a white envelope, our names written in a dark, cursive scrawl. The Hogwarts crest is stamped into the seal.

"I almost forgot these. I'm assuming you three already know what to Serena, but just in case." His eyes twinkle brightly, and in a blink of an eye, he disappears, leaving Serena, Penny and me to stare blankly. So we're witches. Not a big deal. It's something I've wanted all my life. It's so cool. And now we get to shop in Diagon Alley and go to England, and…Oh, who am I kidding? I'm a **witch**, for Merlin's sake.

***certain characters from this chapter are from JRK's Order Of The Phoenix and other Potter books. I own none of this, or her characters, only what you don't recognize as canon.**

**Hello everyone! Welcome to I Hate This Part 2.0. I'm going through a serious revamp of this story and would appreciate some feedback on the changes. **

**Also, to new readers, welcome to Elle's world. It's a little more bubbly than Harry's, isn't it? I like to think so. **

**Anywho, I'm off to finish editing the first chapter. Thanks for reading, lovelies.**

**Holly**

**A Darling Disaster**


	2. Chapter Two: Something Different

"Elle, how about this one?" I follow Penny's voice across the store in Flourish and Blott's, and find her holding a tattered copy of Advanced Herbology: 5th edition. I glance back at the list in my hands and shake my head.

"Penny, it says Herbology: 5th edition. I'm not Neville. Maybe we should just come back. We still have to go get cauldrons, plus picking out our robes. It's almost," I look at my phone, "six o clock, and we have to be back at Grimauld by, like, seven for when Harry gets there. Let's just get what we can find and leave."

I don't mean to diss my dorky cousin. Honestly. I love him to death. Growing up, he was like my older brother. But he's a nerd. To the extreme. I could never be in an advanced plant growing class. Ever. Arithmancy, yeah. I mean, it's just basically Muggle math. Granted, I've never been good at that as it is, but…whatever.

When Neville came to visit at the earlier part of the summer, it was evident that he was still trying to keep his secret from us. Until my parents sat him down and explained the whole situation to him (and then swore him to secrecy via the Secret Keeper charm). He looked so relieved, it wasn't even funny. He just started rattling on and on about how great Professor Sprout was and how we were going to love her class, and then he started (attempting) to show us some spells. Of course, none of us could do any of them yet, because Dumbledore still had our powers. Locked up in one of those glass vials in his office. A binding spell was cast on us as children, and apparently he was just going to keep them locked up.

Unfortunately, I'm the last of us to get our powers. Each time Dumbledore's visited, he's come handy with one of the girls' powers. But not me, yet. Not even on my birthday this last weekend. I mean, come on. I got presents from practically everyone in the house, and I hadn't even known them that long. I received chocolates from Ron and Hermione (they'd sent the same to Harry and Neville), the most adorable pair of Lily Pulitzer sunglasses from Serena, the complete set of Pretty Little Liar books from Penny, and Love Potions from Fred and George (according to them, they work for 24-ish hours, depending on the weight of the boy and the attractiveness of the girl, and George, in his words, believes that I "should get the full effect every time I use them based on the last bit." He is such a flirt). Ginny even promised to teach me the Bat Bogey curse when we were back at school and could use our powers.

But did Dumbledore come in hand with my powers while we feasted on the royal purple cake Molly made? No. Of course not. So therefore, I can't get my wand. Yeah, I can play Quidditch and mess around with some potions stuff, but what's the point in being a witch without having any magic? Every day it's getting harder and harder watching Penny and Serena go off with Lupin, who's been somewhat informed on the real situation along with Tonks, Moody, Sirius and the Weasley adults, to learn their magic. Dumbledore received special dispensation from the ministry to assure that we were "caught up" with the rest of our classmates – meaning they couldn't prosecute us for practicing our magic, unlike Harry.

Penny taps Serena, who's skimming over a row of Transfiguration books, on the arm, and she glances at us, and grabs three copies of Transfiguration for fifth years. I could honestly spend all day in this store. I mean, sure, Penny's the smart one out of this group. She's smart and quiet, Serena's brave and loud, and I'm…me. A combination of the two; loud and smart; witty and creative. And yet some how, I'm the only one of us still kind of freaking out about this whole thing. Four months ago we were begging for freshman year back in Louisiana to be over, and now we're boarding in Sirius' place until the year starts, and our parents can find two places close to the headquarters.

It's kind of odd, because, well, we're boarding with _characters_ from a _book series_. Imagine how awkward that would be. It's like sharing a house with Romeo and Juliet. You know their going to die for each other in the end, and yet you can't tell them.

Or, at least, that's how Dumbledore explained it last week when we moved in and became secret keepers. And, on top of all that, though only certain members like Tonks and Sirius and Lupin know about our situation, Serena, Penny and I are the youngest people in the Order. Dumbledore and our parents felt it was important, seeing as we "share a large amount of information that could be vital to keeping the wizarding world on the right track." Ok, I think that Dumbledore's been popping one to many lemon drops on an empty stomach, if you know what I mean. But, aside from the occasional strange look from Snape, who's stopped by multiple times since we moved in, and we've since realized that he is as funky looking as described in the books, no one else really bothered us about the Order meetings. That is, until the Weasley's moved in. Boy, as soon a Ginny caught word that we were aloud into the meetings, but she and Ron, the oldest of all of us before Hermione arrived, weren't, she flipped.

Of course, the Weasley twins are probably the easiest ones to get along with in the house, what with the WWW products being tested this summer and all. They totally make me forget what I'm doing in a fictional world. And the fact that their both totally gorgeous with their ginger hair and Quidditch bodies might help a bit. And Ginny's a lot like me, stubborn and strong, with a fierceness that brings out the best (and worst) in her.

Ron is a whole different story. There's a reason that JK mentions those damn ears so many times in the books. I don't know if you're aware, but my friends and I, much to Hermione and Ron's disapproval, are very, very perverted. We have excuses, though. I mean, come on, we're public school kids from the south. Public school kids anywhere will most likely be pretty perverted. In addition, my older cousins on my mom's side, Max and Terry, were giving me the sex talk in fourth grade. They were four years older than me, and I barely knew what a kiss was. Passing my knowledge onto Penny and Serena didn't help very much, though. And every time we mentioned anything sexually related in the presence of either Ron or Hermione, Ron would turn red and look down, and Hermione would hide under that mess she calls hair. And JK wasn't _just kidding_ when she called it a mane.

Like I said, it's been weird living with all these people, but I think the most awkward part is going to be tonight, when Harry comes in. I mean, we already know how it's going to go pretty much, but at the same time, not. Each experience as we've read it – seen it – has been so incredibly different than we imagined. Because there's no comparison to living it. No feeling could be like actually interacting with these people, our heroes.

Serena walks ahead of us to the checkout counter, where the rest of our required books are stacked, and throws down the three thick editions of the Transfiguration books. The lady at the register smiles at us.

"Hogwarts days, gotta love 'em." She laughs and begins checking us out. Easy for you to say, lady. You're not walking into that school knowing that every person in the building is in mortal danger.

Forty minutes later, we'd ordered all of our robes and from Madam Malkin's (apparently we were just getting black, and Professor Dumbledore would change them when we got sorted), picked up our grey skirts, vests, sweaters and socks for our uniform, and met Moody at The Leaky Cauldron. "You lot ready?" he asks. We shake our bags, and he rolls his eye, grabbing onto my hand, and in turn, I grab onto Serena, and she holds Penny's hand. I feel that all too obvious feeling of apparation, a wave of nausea, and less than two second's later, we're back on the front steps of Number 12, Grimauld Place. Moody knocks once, and as soon as Mrs. Weasley opens the door, there's a soft _pop_ and he's gone again.

"Off to pick up Harry, I suppose. Tonks just left. There's been some big ruckus at his aunt and uncles. As per usual, I say. Come on in! Supper's getting fixed before the meeting," Mrs. Weasley cries, ushering us into the house. It smells great, as usual. I can smell a roast in the oven, and Serena rubs her stomach.

"Smell's awesome, Mrs. W. I'm so hungry." Mrs. Weasley smiles appreciatively.

"You three have appetites like my boys. It's great to see girls eating, especially with all those new Muggle ads with the girls no bigger than wands." We trudge upstairs laughing, and throw our things on our respective beds in the room. Since tonight's Order meeting was just for "Older, more mature" members (or at least, that's what Snape had spit at us when we'd asked to come), we were just spending the night in. We change quickly, and I notice that Penny and Serena, acting true as sisters, both re-do their makeup before heading over to Ginny and Hermione's room. Hermione sits facing the door on her bed, her legs crossed, arms on either side of her, and Ginny is no where in sight. Ron, however, is sitting on her bed, facing Hermione. They seem to be in an animate conversation, but stop abruptly as we walk in and close the door. "What are you two up to?" I ask sweetly. Hermione breathes out deeply and crosses her arms.

"We're trying to figure out how to explain this whole thing to Harry when he gets here," she says. "I mean, about the Order and everything. He's coming in tonight, everyone just left to pick him up. We haven't been able to write him or anything, you know, on account of Dumbledore." She's rambling on and on. Oh dear God. "But, I mean, I don't want him to think that we didn't want to. And with this whole trial thing at the ministry, it's going to be a hell for him 'till school starts." Hermione stops. "What do you think we should say, Elle?" I blink, surprised she's asking me.

"Uhm…" I hear, in the hallway, Lupin's voice welcoming Harry. And then, footsteps coming up the stairs. "Well, I don't know what ya'll should say, but you better figure that out quick, because…" I pull Penny and Serena aside just as the door bangs open, and Hermione gasps.

"Harry!" She pulls him into a hug, and they launch into the conversation I've read so many times, about the Order, and Grimauld, and Sirius, and the stupid trial; Voldemort, Dumbledore. Harry doesn't even notice us for a full three minutes. It isn't until Ron and I both yell "Pig, shut it!" to the still screeching owl in the corner. But by that time, I'm still a bit shell shocked. The main character and hero of one of my favorite book series' is standing in front of me, looking very, very good in a pair of dark wash jeans and a blue tee shirt. I can see his scar through his hair, and the light from the chandelier on the ceiling bounces off his glasses.

When he finally does notice us, he stops mid-sentence, and gives us all a once over. "Have you three been standing there the entire time?" I nod meekly and smile.

"Sorry. We thought you'd see us." Serena laughed behind me, and I smooth out my green Lilly Pulitzer dress, praying that my hair hadn't frizzed in the heat of the summer. Harry is a lot cuter than I'd imagined. Like, Daniel Radcliffe doesn't do shit for him. His Quidditch-earned muscles ripple under his tee shirt, and when he turns around, his raven hair shines in the light.

What the hell am I saying? He's a fictional character! I've been reading about him since I was like, ten! I can not think he's hot. But he is. Oh so cute. Jesus Christ. Get a grip, Elle.

In the two second's it's taken me to have a mental war with myself, Harry's still staring at me. I feel myself blush. "I'm Elle, and this is Penny and Serena." I gesture to them in turn and saw Serena wave half-heartedly out of the corner of my eye. "We're kind of new around here." I look back at Penny and she nods, smiling as well. Looking back at Harry, he's still staring, one eyebrow raised. "Our parents…they went to school together. Ours," I gesture to him, "and yours." He looks shocked.

"Your parents…knew mine?" I nod again.

"We've been out of the country for a while, but our parents decided to come back. Sirius is letting us stay here until they can find houses. I guess they were all friends at Hogwarts."

"And you three know about…" he gestures to the door, where we can hear mumbling still coming from the room downstairs. We nod.

"Of course. Wouldn't be here if we didn't!" He looks at Hermione, as if trying to figure out if we're believable or not. She gives him a look that everyone can read pretty clearly. He sighs, and then looks at me.

"Well. Any friends of my parents must have good kids." And then he sticks his hand out. I shake his hand warmly, and feel the tension in the room melt away, but I catch him giving Hermione another sideways glance. "So you three are from the Americas?" He grins and plops down on the bed like we're old friends, and I smile.

"Yep. We were all born here, but we moved when our parents got jobs there." Penny and Serena nod in agreement and smile. Not the entire story, but it'll do for now. We all grab seats opposite of the other three on Ginny's bed and launch into a discussion about America.

"You went to an American Wizarding school, then?" Harry asks, and we nod in unison, myself being the first person to answer.

"New Orleans Secondary. Little place outside of the city. Most of the state's witches and wizards go there." I smile proudly, as if I haven't just lied to his face. "Everyone in town thought it was this snooty boarding school for rich kids."

"That's smart," he says. "I think last time I heard my uncle said that I was at St. Brute's, the school for criminals." Harry scowls and I see Ron fighting a laugh. Hermione finally pipes into the conversation.

"Penny here's top of their class. Taking all advanced classes and everything." Ron grins.

"So does that mean you can study with her? A year without the library! Wouldn't that be amazing?" He looks at Harry, then Penny, who's already blushing. "Oh, please do." We all laugh quietly as Penny's face gets redder and Hermione looks pissed.

"He's just joking, hun," I say, half laughing. Hermione shakes her head.

"Everyone's so unappreciative," she mutters. We all laugh.

"Don't worry." I laugh and look at Penny. "I prefer a good book over a wild party. But I do know how to party, if you know what I mean." I wiggle my eyebrows and Penny, Serena and Harry crack up. Ron and Hermione, not so much. Both turn red and look down. Geezzze. Get a grip, guys. "Serena and I play Quidditch as well." Harry and Ron both immediately cheer up, and Hermione and Penny both look pained. I know Penny hates sports, but Sirius has been showing me and Serena the ropes and basics of Quidditch and both of us are actually **really** good at the beater part, even if I'm better as a Seeker. I usually have no sense of coordination, but I think because I've known the rules of the game for years now I'm used to picturing things I my head and I know how things are supposed to go.

Harry and Ron launch into an animated conversation about American Quidditch teams with Serena and I, so the other two start discussing books and Muggle TV shows (Penny is a closet _Skins_ addict…).

At dinner, Mrs. Weasley announces we're cleaning the house. Most people groan, but Serena, Penny and I expected it, so we came prepared. Mom, Dad and the McAllister's are out looking for new jobs and house hunting pretty much all the time as of late, so we were stuck at home with everyone else. By the end of dinner, cleaning is long forgotten. Talk of Doxy's in curtains turns into talk of Voldemort, and the collective shudders around the table are shared by everyone but Serena, Penny and I. Fear of a name, and all. I think High School is what made us hard, really. It's like hearing the head cheerleaders name and shuddering-she's not going to see it, so why give her the satisfaction of knowing you freak even when she's not in the room?

Ginny begrudgingly stomps up the stairs after everyone else is told they can stay for the meeting. I give her a cursory glance, and mouth that I'd fill her in later. For some reason, I feel a kind of…connection with Ginny. She's very similar to me, in more than one way, and knows basically what I'm thinking when I think it. While Ron may be her older brother, Ginny is vastly more mature than him, both in how she acts and thinks.

The next morning, we set off to clean. "Elle, come check this out!" I hear Fred call from the other room. I know, they're twins. I shouldn't be able to tell them apart. But, I'm good at this stuff. My little cousins on my mom's side are twins and I can tell their voices apart just like I can with the Weasley's. I put my rag down on the windowsill that Penny and I are currently cleaning and walk out into the hall, trying to figure out where the voice was coming from. Summer Friday mornings are meant to be slept in. Not spending the morning hours cleaning. So to say I'm a bit grumpy right now is an understatement.

"Where are you?" I call out, looking in each room.

"I'm down in the loo by our room!" I stop in my tracks momentarily, questioning why Fred was calling me to meet him in the restroom, and then, rolling my eyes, continue down the hallway. I look to my left as I'm about to walk into the bathroom and see Harry, by himself. When I realize what room he's in, I stop dead, and then turn into the room without missing a beat. He's standing, staring at a large tapestry covered wall with scorch marks all over it. I fight a gasp as I read the names.

"Is this…?" I trail off, and Harry nods.

"I think so. I see some names I recognize…" He points to Belatrix, and then Tonx's mom's name. I cringe involuntarily, my mind flashing back to those horrible scenes in the fifth book that I wouldn't wish upon anyone. And then I realize that that's _going_ to happen. It's what scares me the most. I reach forward, not even thinking, and swipe my fingers across the burnt bit covering where I know Siruis and Tonx's faces should be. "_The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black,_" he reads off.

"Well there's a pompous name if I've ever heard one." I let out a snort.

"You have no idea." I jump involuntarily. Sirius stands leaning against the other doorway, looking at us. "I haven't looked at this for years," he says, coming up in front of us, and swiping his hand across the tattered fabric. "There's Phineas Nigellus… my great-great-grandfather, see?… least popular Headmaster Hogwarts ever had… and Araminta Meliflua… cousin of my mothers… tried to force through a Ministry Bill to make Muggle-hunting legal." He gestures to each mark. "…and dear Aunt Elladora… she started the family tradition of beheading house-elves when they got too old to carry tea trays… of course, any time the family produced someone halfway decent they were disowned. I see Tonks isn't on here." He swipes his hand over a scorch mark closer to us, and I step back. "Maybe that's why Kreacher won't take orders from her - he's supposed to do whatever anyone in the family asks him-

Harry cuts him off. "You and Tonks are related?" He sounds surprised.

"Oh, yeah, her mother Andromeda was my favourite cousin," Sirius says, examining the tapestry closely. "No, Andromeda's not on here either, look." He points to another small round burn mark between two names, Bellatrix and Narcissa. "Andromeda's sisters are still here because they made lovely, respectable pure-blood marriages, but Andromeda married a Muggle-born, Ted Tonks, so…" He mimes blasting a wand at the tapestry, and I smile at his joke. Harry, however, does not. I follow his line of vision, and my eyes widened. I'd completely forgotten….

"You're related to the Malfoys!" Harry cries, almost more surprised than before.

"Who are they again?" I feign forgetfulness and scratch my head. The members of the order had vaguely mentioned the Malfoys in their explanation of known Death Eaters, but I wanted to hear this out of his mouth.

"Right gits," Harry spits. Sirius makes a face, just as Serena and Fred walk in, carrying boxes.

"Who's a right git?" Serena puts down her box as she speaks, and lets out a deep breath, pulling her tee shirt down and track shorts up. Fred does the same. Not about the track shorts, I mean. Fred in track shorts is kind of a scary thought.

"The Malfoys," Harry says, echoing Sirius' look of disgust. Fred makes the same face, and Serena and I raise our eyebrows. I kind of want to laugh. I mean, sure, Malfoys an ass. But he's not a total git.

But I have to remind myself that they don't know that yet. That only the three of us really know what's gonna happen with him.

"Isn't this one our age?" I point to Draco's smirking face on the tapestry. "Snape mentioned something about it in the last meeting."

"Yeah," Harry snorted. "But he hardly acts it."

"What boy does?" Serena says, crossing her arms. Sirius laughs. She leans towards me, close enough to where I can only hear. "I think he's kinda cute." She gestures to Malfoy's image on the wall. "I mean, kinda. I did before."

"We don't know that yet," I say, shrugging. "For all we know, Tom Felton could be a severe understatement to his hotness. Danielle was." Sirius clears his throat, and I turn back around. All three guys have their eyebrows raised.

"If you two are done…"

A week passes by. A freaking week of cleaning, organizing, dusting (and following that, sneezing for hours on end), wiping and washing. Screaming from that bloody painting down stairs. And it's finally the day of Harry's hearing. Before dawn, I can hear Molly fussing over him downstairs from our room, and over my head with my pillow, begging for a few more moments of sleep.

But of course, that's not what happens. Because I hear footsteps walk across the room, and the curtains are yanked open, a blinding light seeping in through the cracks under my hands.

"The light, _**it burns**_!" I smile into my pillow. Have I mentioned my friends and I are ridiculously alike? I groan and flip over, sitting up in my pillow and swiping at my eyes.

"Really, Mrs. W?" The woman walking across the room chortles and blows out the candle in her hands.

"Breakfast is ready downstairs. I'll expect you all down there within the next couple of minutes." When she leaves, she shuts the door, and I look at the two girls sitting up in their beds next to me. Without saying a word, the three of us fall back into our beds, pillows covering our faces.

Two minutes later, there's a bang from downstairs, and then the familiar voice of Ms. Black screaming from inside her painting.

"I think they did that on purpose," Penny mutters from under her pillow. I nod, even though no one can see me, and sit back up in bed, finally waking up. The two soon follow, and without even glancing in the mirror, we grab our robes (newly bought-Penny's was blue, Serena's was pink and mine was purple) and walk downstairs. We meet Ron in the walkway, and he gives us all a once over, seemingly in the same disarray we are, and then follow him downstairs to the dining room. Everyone else is already in there; including our parents. It's been almost two days since I've seen my parents. They've been out of the house, looking at properties around the area with the McAllisters, and interviewing for jobs like no others.

"Don't you four look lovely," George says with a snicker as we plop down into our seats. I give him a sarcastic smirk.

"I think they look fine," counters Fred, giving me a once over. "Though…you have a bit of drool." He stands up and leans over the table, pointing to a single spot on the side of my face. "Just there." I embarrassingly wipe it off of my face with the sleeve to my robe, refusing to meet Fred's eyes, and gesture to Hermione, who's sitting across from me, already dressed and looking way too chipper for this early in the morning.

"Can you please pass the sausage?" She nods and hands me the plate, and Serena and I start piling it on our plates.

"Morning to you too," my mother says, rolling her eyes at us.

"Morning." Somehow, the three of us manage to say it at the same time, and I smirk to myself as I pour a glass of milk. "How's the house hunt going?" Penny asks as Serena and I both shove sausage patties in our mouth.

"Good," Uncle Tim replies, taking a sip of his coffee. "We found a couple of houses right down the street from each other closer to the center of town-near Downing Street."

"Ohhh, Downing Street." Mrs. Weasley sits down as she speaks, and her eyebrows are raised high as kites. "That would be fun to live by."

"Not that we'd be spending much time there," Serena says, swallowing a gulp of water. "I mean, Hogwarts is a boarding school."

"Well you didn't spend much time at home before, did you?" Ginny asks. My fork freezes mid way to my mouth, my breath hitching. We'd told the Weasley family that we'd gone to a boarding school in the southern part of the state. So acting like being away from the house was a big deal is a huge no no.

Somehow, we avoid the question. I have no idea how, but we did. Serena said something about getting lots of home time because we lived near campus, a total load of BS that she dished quite well.

Mrs. Weasley lets us know we have the day off as we head up to get dressed for the day, so the only thing I bother doing is throw my hair up in a ponytail, put on a pair of track shorts and a tee shirt, and swipe a little mascara on my eyelids. As Penny and Serena are whisked away to study with Lupin, I'm left in my room to read Pretty Little Liars. I'm literally half way done with the first book, when someone knocks on my door. It's Sirius, and he tells me that Dumbledore is waiting downstairs for me. I raise my eyebrows, but set my book down on my bed, instinctively grasping my cell phone and running down the stairs to meet him. Sirius leads me into a side room-one I haven't been in before. It looks like an old office, one that hasn't been used in years. Dust seems to loom in the air when we walk in (obviously, this is the _one_ room Mrs. Weasley hasn't touched this week), and before seeing the man at the desk, I spot some sort of hand (not of the human variety) in a jar on one of the shelves and shudder.

"Not as abnormal here as you'd think, Ms. Major," Dumbledore says with a smile. I make a face and sit down in the cushy chair across the large, old desk from him.

"Believe me," I say with a grimace. "I know. I saw the elephant foot umbrella holder by the door, and don't even get me started on the elf heads." Dumbledore lets out a small chuckle and leans back in his seat.

"Be that as it may, Ms. Major, I'm not really hear to discuss the Black family's choice in décor. Can you take a guess as to why I _am_ here?" I purse my lips and lean back.

"Well I can tell you why I _want_ you to be here." He raises his eyebrows. "My magic?" The smile that plays on his lips, just barely visible beneath all that hair, makes my heart jump. "Seriously?"

"Seriously." He picks up a small velvet bag, no bigger than something I would put my phone and money in while going to the mall, and pulls out a small, clear vial. I can see some sort of purple-ish liquid swirling around inside, small whisps of air floating to the empty space up top.

"Is this…is this it?" I lean forward, coming eye level with it, and stare for a moment. What I've been waiting for the last three months, yearning to receive with every ounce of my being, was being held five inches in front of me.

"It is." He brings the vial back towards him, standing up and coming around the desk. He motions for me to stand up, which I do, and he slowly twists the glass stopper out of the top, gingerly setting it on the desk behind him. He pulls his wand out of his pocket-I glance at it, and realize for the first time that it's the Elder wand-and sets it at the lip of the vial. "Are you ready?" The three words I've been going over and over in my head. Are. You. Ready. Am I ready to accept the responsibility that comes with this gift? With these powers? Am I ready to become what I've always wanted to be, despite the enormous burden it might put on me?

"Yes." In mere seconds, he's done it. He pulls his wand up, and a trail of purple atoms follows. He points the wand to the crook of my neck, which is the only part of me visible, and suddenly, everything in front of me goes hazy. I don't faint; but I feel myself wobble as a warmth spreads over me, even more so than usual in the summer heat. My fingers tingle, my head pounds, and my toes curl. And suddenly it's all gone. Like nothing ever happened. I look at Dumbledore, my eyes wide, and he smiles again. "That was…odd."

"I'd expect so. Fifteen years of pent up magic, all coming out at once. That's a scary bit." He puts a hand on my shoulder. "How does it feel?" I'm quiet for a minute, trying to put it into words.

"It feels….right." He nods, his face looking thoughtful, and then he leads me to the door.

"Nymphadora is waiting in the kitchen for you-she will take you to get your wand. Do you have any questions." Wait, what? I blink, completely surprised.

"You're not…coming with me? You're not explaining things or giving me long lessons on the importance of being careful with magic?" He gives me a quaint smile.

"Elle, you of all people know the importance of being careful with magic." He opens the door just a little bit, and then looks back at me. "When the time is right, I'll call for you. Just be ready to start." Start _what_? I want to ask. But before I can, there's a large _crash_ and then Mrs. Black starts screaming again.

"So you've only been an auror for a year now?" I question Tonks as we walk down the streets of Diagon Alley. People are giving us weird looks now; partially for the fact that I'm wearing complete and total Muggle clothes right now, and partially because Tonks is currently wearing a pigs nose on her face. I completely forgot she's a Metamorphmagus, but then, while we were grabbing a Butterbeer (one of my new favorite things about this whole world) at the Leaky Couldron, she started laughing, and brought her nose out of her cup to reveal a duck beak. I honestly thought I was going to piss my pants. So as we walk down to Gringotts, I talk to her about everything-her life, her job. Her…_friends_. No. I haven't forgotten that she doesn't fall for Lupin till this coming summer. But I still see the way she looks at him whenever we all eat dinner together.

"Yep. Just got qualified last summer." I shake my head. But she's so…_good_ at what she does. She seems to be one of the two reasons any of us are safe right now (the other being Moody). "Listen," she starts, looking down at the ground as we walk. "I don't know exactly what all this is about-Dumbledore didn't tell me very much to begin with. But I know that you're new to this-that you only just got your powers. And that you know a lot about us, despite not knowing us or of our world until recently. And I don't know how exactly that works." Her nose goes back to normal, and she looks at me. "But if you need anything, I'm here. I know how hard being the new girl can be, especially when you're a bit…different from everyone else." I raise my eyebrows.

"Different?"

"I can't place my finger on it," she says. "But there's something different about you, Elle. I think everyone can kind of sense it. That's why we're all kind of…drawn to you. I don't know what it is yet, but I'm sure you'll figure it out soon." She slings her arm around my shoulder. "And when you do, be sure to let me know."

Our trip to Gringotts is relatively uneventful. I exchange what would be about $100 in American money into wizarding money, and then we head straight for Ollivanders. I think this is the one shop I was really excited to go into when we were here last, but never got to. Neither Penny nor Serena will tell me what happened while they were here, but they have shown me their wands-Penny's was Cherry with Dragon Heartstring, and Serena's was Black Palm with Unicorn Tail. When we walk in, the first thing I notice is the smell-something between burning wood and moth balls. I love it. As we come up to the counter, like something straight out of the first _movie_, Ollivander comes riding along the side of one of the isles on a ladder. The entire shop looks really similar to the one portrayed in the books and movies, I'm happy to say. As does the man walking up to the counter. With long, white hair and dressed to the nines like most wizards, with lines and wrinkles surrounding his mouth and eyes. "Mr. Ollivander!"

"Ms. Tonks!" he says, coming up to the counter. "Mahogony, 11 inches, Pixie hair, correct?" Tonks nods, laughing. Then Ollivander looks to me. "You must be Ms. Major. Albus told me you were coming. I expected you a few years ago, but I'm glad you finally chose to come in." He leans on his elbows. "I remember when your parents came in to get their wands-it was the same day, actually. Your mother's was quite beautiful-Cherry, 10 inches with phoenix feather. And your fathers, Ivory, 12 inches with essence of dragon scales." He turns back, looking at the stacks upon stacks of wands behind him. "Lets see here….what will we try first?" He walks along one of the isles, and pulls a pretty blue box out, walking back and setting it down on the desk. He opens it up, and picks up a thin, redish looking wand made of light wood. "Try this one."

I glance at Tonks, and she gives me an encouraging smile. I point it at a plant behind the desk, looking slightly dreary, and try the first spell I can think of that has anything to do with water. "_Aguamenti_!" Instead of a stream of water coming out of my wand, a kind of puff of smoke explodes out of the end, and the flowers look even more dreary. Mr. Ollivander laughs, takes the wand back, and goes for another one.

"Blimey. I didn't learn that spell till probably…sixth year?" Tonks raises her eyebrows at me. "How'd you learn it so fast?"

"I've known that one for a couple of years," I say coolly, leaning against the counter. "I just haven't been able to actually do it."

"Still can't," she says with a wink. I laugh, and stick my tongue out at her.

"Here we go!" Ollivander comes back with another one, taking it out of it's box and handing it to me. "This one should do the trick. Cherry, like your friend Penny's." I want to ask how he knows Penny and I are friends, but then I remember that this is Dumbledore's friend we're to. So I just hold the piece of wood in my hands, point at a glass bottle of what looks like Butterbeer sitting on the counter.

"_Wingardium Leviosa_!" I think it's safe to say that my attempt to make the bottle levitate does not go according to plan. In the simplest words I can manage…it explodes. Violently.

"Nope. Nope. Definitely not." I gingerly set the wand down on the desk, and Tonks looks like she's about to start laughing. As Ollivander puts the wand back in the box, he pauses. "I wonder…." This is getting way too much like Harry's experience in this same shop. He pulls the box under his arm, and disappears down the isle, a moment later coming back with another one. The outside is a deep purple, and when he opens it, the wand inside is nestled in a velvet of the same color. He slowly picks up the wand, examining it before handing it to me. "I never thought I'd see the day someone tried this one out. But it looks like the day's come."

"What's so special about it?" I ask, almost afraid to take it from him.

"You'll see. If this is meant for you…you'll know." I pause for a moment, before finally taking the handle from him, and grasping it in my hand. Like in the room with Dumbledore, a kind of…warmth spreads over me. It starts at my hand, and goes all the way down to my toes. I point the wand at one of the windows on the side of the shop.

"_Tergeo_!" In the blink of an eye, all the dirt on the window just…falls off. I blink, eyes wide, shocked. Tonks lets out an excited laugh behind me, and put a hand on my shoulder.

"Looks like you found your wand!" I turn back to Ollivander, still surprised.

"It shouldn't have worked that well," I said with a head shake. "That was the first time I've ever used that spell. With a wand, at least."

"I'm not surprised," he says with a knowing smile. "The owner of that wand," he gestures to the one in my hand, "is very special indeed." I cock my head to the side, confused. He elaborates. "This wand," he reaches out for it, and I hand it to him, "is completely unique. Probably the only combination of its kind." He points to the dark handle. "This is ebony. In wandmaking, it's used for protection." He runs his hand over the tip of the wand (and I, of course, fight a laugh at how wrong the gesture looks). "This is almond. It's used to induce happiness." He sets it down on the desk, and leans over, getting closer to me. "The core is made of Thesteral mane hair. This wand…this wand is for the very complicated."

"Just for you, then." I glance back and Tonks and roll my eyes.

"Obviously," Ollivander says. "This wand is going to be especially good at protective spells, especially deflection." I ponder at how this may work. From the way all of this is going, it looks like I might need that protective quality. A lot. "And the thesteral…" He shakes his head. "I think I've sold maybe fifteen wands in my life, which I might add, has been very long, with thesteral hair in them." He looks me square in the eyes, and smiles. "You, Ms. Major, are in for something very big. Something very special." He hands me back the wand, and closes the box up, handing it to me too. "4 Galleons even. And for you, I'll throw in a holster."

When I get home, the entire house is in mass chaos. "He got off, he got off, he got off…" Tonks drops me off, saying she has a few errands to run, and I walk into the kitchen to find Fred, George, Serena and Ginny dancing around the kitchen, singing at the top of their lungs. Penny is sitting at the table with Hermione, and while Penny looks fit to burst with laughter, Hermione sits cradling her head with her hands. "He got off, he got off, he got off!" Ginny notices I'm standing by the door, and dances around the table, grabbing my hand and pulling me into their dancing circle. I laugh and join in, lifting my hands in the air with Serena.

"That's enough!" Mr. Weasley calls. "Quiet down!" He's not being very convincing. The smile on his face is hard to take seriously. "Listen, Sirius, Lucius Malfoy was at the Ministry-"

"WHAT?" Sirius half shouts over our chants.

"Be quiet you five! Yes, we saw him talking to Fudge on Level Nine, then they went up to Fudge's office together. Dumbledore ought to know."

"Absolutely," Sirius says with a nod. "We'll tell him. Don't worry."

"Well, I better get going, there's a vomiting toilet waiting for me in Bethnal Green. Molly, I'll be late, I'm covering for Tonks, but Kingsley might be dropping by for dinner-"

"He got off, he got off, he got off…."

"THAT'S ENOUGH-Fred-George-Ginny-Serena-Elle!" Ms. Weasley says as Mr. Weasley leaves the kitchen.

My first lesson is the next day. After a quick (well, as quick as you can get with Mrs. Weasley) breakfast, Serena, Penny and I all practically run back into the room where Lupin sits with his toast and eggs at a desk, mulling over an issue of the _Daily Prophet_.

"Finally got your wand, huh?" he asks when he sees me with the group. I nod, smiling sheepishly. "Well, give it here." I hand it over to him, feeling almost odd giving it to someone else, and he inspects it. "What's it made out of?"

"Almond and Ebony." He blinks, looking surprised.

"There's an odd combination if I've ever heard one." He hands it back to me, and stands up, finishing the last bites of his food and folding his newspaper neatly. "Today, girls, we'll be doing a very special spell." He looks at me. "I know you haven't been able to try out many spells, but I think you'll grasp the concept of this one quite well." Lupin comes around and sits on the side of the desk. "Harry, you can come in now!" he calls to the door. It creaks open to reveal a slightly disheveled Harry, who hadn't been down for breakfast.

"You okay, Harry?" Penny asks, looking as concerned as we all felt.

"Just a bad dream," he says with a small smile, closing the door behind him and coming to sit next to Lupin on the desk.

"I don't normally teach this to people, especially ones so young as you three." Lupin gestures to us. "But I taught it to Harry in his third year, and you three are just as quick as him." Harry nods next to him.

"If not more."

"Wait a sec…" Serena starts, glancing at me. "What exactly are we learning here?"

"The Patronus Charm," Harry says with a smirk. One that I kind of want to smack off his face. Lupin stands up, and moves towards a large trunk I haven't noticed before.

"Harry is here because he's the only person I know that can do this."

"Do what?" Penny asks.

"Turn a boggart into a dementor." I involuntarily scooch back in my chair-dementors have always freaked me out. Especially in the movies. "Now, Harry is going to stand next to the trunk to turn it. I want each of you to come stand up front and try and use the Patronus charm."

"Penny first!" Serena says before Lupin can pick one of us to go. Penny glares at her sister, but stands up, pulling her wand out of her sweatshirt pocket.

"You know the incantation, right?" Penny nods to Lupin's question, and he brandishes his own wand, moving it in a kind of figure eight pattern. "_Expecto patronum_." A large, hairy wolf comes streaming out of his wand, prances around for a few seconds, and then disappears. He looks at Harry. "You ready?" Harry nods, pulling out his wand for good measure, and Lupin pulls the lid of the trunk open. A large, black, cloaked figure flies out of it, and Penny, hands shaking, raises her wand.

"_Expecto patronum!_" A small, silvery whisp comes out of the tip of Penny's wand, and the figure in front of her shrinks back a few feet, before turning on the next person around him; Harry. He points his wand at it, and turns to Serena.

"Serena, you're up!" She stands quickly, pulls her wand out, and yells the spell as if her life depends on it.

"_Expecto patronum!_" A larger swirl of silvery air comes out of her wand, and turns the dementor's attention back to her before it shrinks away again.

"Elle!" At Lupin's call, I stand up and pull my wand, slowly, out of my jacket pocket. My hands are trembling like Penny's before me, and as I point my wand at the now advancing Dementor, I glance at Harry, who gives me an encouraging smile.

"_Expecto patronum!_" I say it a little lighter than Serena did, but I feel a kind of blast of energy out of me, expecting a small whisp to come out like the two before me. But no. What came out was a full fletched woodland creature, who prances around the figure, who's five times as large as it is. The Dementor, seeing the full patronus, completely collapses back into the box, and Lupin closes it before it comes back out. I blink, completely stunned, and the patronus does the same to me. It has wide eyes, with long eyelashes and what looks like light fur. And holy shit…those ears. They're like Dumbo!

"What the…." Before Serena can finish her sentence, the animal takes a few more steps and then disappears into a puff of silvery air. I look at Lupin, and his face matches everyone elses. Complete and utter shock.

"What in Merlin's name was _that_?" Harry asks.

"I think it was a Fox." I turn around at Penny's words, and laugh.

"_That_ was a fox?"

"It looked like it!" She held up her hands in defense, and shook her head. Lupin still looked shocked.

"I've never seen a corporeal patronus out of anyone their first time."

"I passed out my first time," Harry comments, sticking his wand in his back pocket. "Wait till Hermione hears about this. She can't even make a whisper of a patronus." Serena comes up behind me and rests her hand on my shoulder, giving it a shake.

"Way to go, girl!" I look back at her, and then at my wand in my hand. I can't believe I just did that. My first major spell, and I did it perfectly.

To say I was overjoyed would have been a severe understatement.

By the second to the last day of summer, the rest of the group is anxiously awaiting their Hogwarts letters. In the morning, Ron, Harry, Ginny, Bill and the twins head out into the back to play Quidditch when our parents burst in the door of the kitchen. We'd been planning on meeting with Lupin to get our last lesson before school started, but as soon as we see the excited looks on all their faces, we know something's up.

"We've done it!" my mother calls, crashing down at the kitchen table.

"Done what?" Penny asks, taking a tray of latte's from her own mother's hand and setting it on the table. I count eight all together, and wonder subconsciously who the last one is for.

"Found houses-and jobs!" I blink at them. Really? Seriously? All in one day?

"We found two houses-right next door from each other. They're about three blocks over from here, six from Downing Street." My dad beams as he talks.

"And both Will and I," my dad gestures to Uncle Tim, "have been hired on as partners at a firm downtown."

"Seriously?" Serena is just as shocked as the rest of us.

"Really. Apparently a few of their partners were at some function last month, and six of them got arrested for possession of marijuana." I hide the laugh that threatens to spill out of my mouth at my father's words. "All the people under there are apparently quite inadequate. So they were looking to hire full time immediately, and there we were!"

"This cute little boutique downtown as well," Aunt Lindsey starts, "was looking for a buyer. I went in this morning and they hired me on the spot!" Serena hugs her mom, letting out a little squeal.

"You have to send us all the latest stuff!" she says with a grin. My mother finally speaks.

"I went in and talked to this booking agency I read about online-they're supposed to be pretty good. They hired me on a contract-to-hire basis, but it looks like this will be right up my alley." The light in my moms eyes makes me smile, and I hug her.

"And in celebration," Dad says, pulling up a bag and setting it on the table. "We come bearing presents!"

"And lattes!" Mom says, taking one out of the holder and handing it to me. She hands everyone else one, and Uncle Tim comes up behind my dad and pulls out a little box out of the bag in front of them.

"For Penny." He hands her the box, and she sets it on the table and opens it, while he goes back and grabs another box from the bag, giving it to Serena. "And Serena."

"And we've got one in here for you, Elle." Dad reaches in and pulls out another box, handing it to me. I follow Penny and Serena, and open my box. The three of us gasp simultaneously, seeing what's inside.

"How did you…" Serena speaks, glancing up at our parents.

"Lupin might have let it slip that you three mastered your Patronus charms-before fifth year, none the less," Uncle Tim adds with an appreciative smile. I look back down at the contents of my box and grin. Inside lies a small terrarium, no bigger than a sheet of paper. I pull it out and inspect it. Inside, the base is littered with snow colored sand and small rocks, with a little pile of them on one side. It isn't until I see the movement near the rocks that I notice there's a living breathing creature inside there. "Your patronus is a Fennec, right?" I nod wordlessly to my fathers question, and sit down at the table, putting the cage in front of me.

"And yours is a Scottie, correct?" Aunt Lindsey questions Serena, who also nods without a word and sits down. I look in her terrarium and laugh. It looks like the scene out of lady and the tramp-a warm fire, cushy armchair and large, plush rug. In the armchair sits a small Scottie, almost black in color, sleeping and looking ridiculously adorable. "Jag for you?" Penny mirrors us, tapping on her glass. Inside hers, it looks like a rainforest-miniature trees with vines connecting them. On one of the larger branches sits a dark colored jaguar, pawing mindlessly at a flower on the vine below. I look back at mine in time to see that out from one side of the pile comes a small animal, no bigger than my palm. Its fur almost matches the sand, looking soft and fluffy. Its ears, which are almost bigger than its head, stick out, as if it's hearing something. The Fennec Fox. The smallest breed known to man. Or so Wikipedia had said. After my first lesson with Lupin, Penny, Serena and I had pulled out my laptop and searched the characteristics of my animal, mostly to prove Penny's original idea of it being a fox. She was right. And two days later, she managed to pull a black Jaguar out of her wand. Serena's came yesterday.

"We found them at the Menagerie in Diagon-Tonks said you'd been looking at them when you got your wand." Mom is correct. I had been looking at the adorable miniature animals in the window as we walked back to the Leaky Cauldron to leave.

"Am I interrupting anything?" We all turn towards the voice to see Dumbledore standing against the door frame, smiling at all of us.

"Of course not, Albus!" My mother stands up, and pulls the last coffee out of the holder, handing it to him. "We didn't think you'd be here till eleven!"

"There was a slight change of plans…Can I speak to Elle for a moment, please?" I stand up, picking the cage up with me and looking back at Serena and Penny, who are both looking at me with raised eyebrows. I shrug my shoulders, and follow Dumbledore back to the office where I'd last met him. "This won't take more then a few minutes," he says as he shuts the door. He gestures for me to sit down where I had last time, and I set the glass cage on the table. Without saying anything, Dumbledore pulls it towards him and opens a small latch on one side. The top half of the wall opens out, and he reaches in and picks up the ball of fluff that sits quivering in the corner. "Hold out your hand," he says. I hold my hands up, and he carefully places it in them. Its fur is as soft as it looks, and I sit back in my seat and cradle it to my chest. "What're you going to name it?" I'm silent for a moment, thinking.

"Well it's a girl…." He smiles. "So…I don't know….I've always liked the name Roxy." Clearly, I spend too much time listening to Broadway soundtracks.

"Then Roxy it is." We both laugh quietly, and he leans forward a little bit. "Elle, this isn't very important, but I felt you needed to know before Monday-it might be a little surprising."

"What will be?"

"As you know," he begins, crossing his hands, "at Hogwarts, we sort our students into the houses based on their personalities-whatever the hat thinks you best fit into. You understand this, correct?" I nod. "There are certain cases, Ms. Major, where we at Hogwarts intervene with the sorting of a student. This may be for their own good, or for the greater good of the houses involved."

"And I'm one of these cases?" I ask.

"Yes, you are." He sits back in his chair, looking at me over his glasses. "Ms. Major, in the last couple of weeks it's become apparent to not only myself, but other members of the Order, just how special you and your friends are. The three of you have mastered spells in three months that most wizards and witches take years to learn. You managed to do one of the hardest in a day. This makes you in particular very special. You're in our world for a reason, Elle, and that reason is to help Mr. Potter and his friends in their quest against the Dark Lord. And you can't very well do that if you're never near them." I sit up, holding Roxy in my lap.

"Hold up, let me see if I understand what you're trying to say." I take a breath. "You're saying that, because _I'm special_, you're going to make sure I'm sorted into Harry's house to be close to him, Hermione and Ron? You're going to force me to be a _Gryffindor_?" I spit out the last word like acid. I've always figured myself as a Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff, never as one of the more…competitive houses.

"Ms. Major, being a Gryffindor is nothing to be upset about."

"It is when I have no say in the matter!" I breathe out, trying to calm myself down. I make an attempt not to freak out, but so far it's not working. "Why would you do this?"

"For exactly the reason I told you. You can't be of help if you're never near those most in need of it. This way, you can keep an eye on things, and make sure things go the way their supposed to." He smiles. "Besides, I hear Gryffindor's going for it's 5th house cup in a row. It might be fun to try and help out with that." I roll my eyes, trying to think of any other possible way this might be a good thing.

The next day, the letters arrive. Ron and Hermione are made prefects, and Mrs. Weasley rushes out of the house to go get Ron a new broom. The three of us start packing our things, and I avoid telling them what Dumbledore told me. At the start of all this, we swore to be honest. Now, I feel like I have to keep something from them. They don't need to know about this. I don't want them to think they're less special than me. Right now, one of us is just as important as the other. And until Dumbledore or anyone else can prove otherwise, I'm nothing more than one of three girls who knows way too much. I'm going into a school where I know of everyone, but don't _know_ anyone. I've got eight friends total that go there, counting only two that I've known for more than two months and one family member. And I'm entering said school on a rigged sorting system that I'm pretty damn sure is going to mess with my year from the start. My parents have expressed their worries for the first time today about me being away from them after only just having received my powers.

What other sort of shenanigans can I get into?

***certain bits of this chapter are complete quotes from JRK's Order Of The Phoenix. I own none of this, or her characters, only what you don't recognize as canon.**

**Hello everyone! Thanks for reading chapter two. Once again, this has been edited from the original. Dumbledore's a little sneak, isn't he?**

**Chapter three will be updated next, followed by four. I should have the new chapter up tomorrow (4/4/14) at the latest! **

**Thanks again,**

**Holly**

**A Darling Disaster**


	3. Chapter Three: Bell Phones

I've never really been one for a big entrance. I like to get to parties early and hang back with Penny, watching everyone go by. Serena, however, has always loved the attention she gets by getting there just a bit after everyone else. The awestruck stares boys give her, the jealous glares from girls that follow. If it weren't true, I wouldn't be saying it, but Serena is one of those girls who can walk into a room and everyone stares. Penny and I blend into the background.

I have no idea how she did it. Seriously. Somehow, Serena convinced us it would be a _great _idea to go just a little bit late to Kings Cross, so that when we did get there, people would stare. And people _are _staring at us as we race to get to the train on time. The three of us, trailed behind by our parents, without hesitation, run straight at the wall between platforms 9 and 10, and arrive on the platform in time to see Harry, Ron, Ginny and Hermione slipping on the train.

"Harry!" I call out, waving my hand over my head. "Save us seats in your cabin! We'll be on in a minute!" He nods at my words, and the four of them climb into the train. "This was an _awesome _idea, S. Just great." I heave my larger trunk off the cart and hand it to the uniformed man ready to take them to the storage car.

"Hey! It's not my fault the floo system was backed up!"

"Renee! Aaron! Marie! William!" Molly, Moody, Tonks, and Sirius (in dog form) come running up to us. "Oh, good Merlin. I thought you three might miss the train!"

"We might if we don't hurry!" Penny says with a laugh.

"You girls brought _way _too much," my father starts, helping me pull the smaller trunk off, and Uncle Tim goes to help his daughters.

"We're _girls_," Serena says with a shrug. Before Dad can even roll his eyes, a warning whistle goes off, and Serena, Penny and I look at each other in shock.

"Looks like you three better go!" Uncle Tim pulls the last large trunk off, and gestures for his daughters to hug him. I look at my dad, and I feel my eyes swelling with tears as he pulls me into his arms.

"I want one too!" Tonks says over my dads shoulder. I laugh, and as soon as my dad kisses me on the head, I give my mother the same hug and then go for Tonks. "Don't forget to write! I want to know what's up with you! Just send Hedwig; Harry won't mind." As Tonks moves to hug Penny and Serena, Sirius's head nudges my leg, and he blinks up at me with these big puppy dog eyes. I smile at him, and lean down to kiss his head.

"Thanks for everything. We'll see you at Christmas." I look at him again, and his eyes seem to have changed. And somehow, I know what he's thinking. "Don't worry. We'll look after him. Everything will be okay." He licks my face. No, really. He licks my face. I let out a disgusted sound and laugh, and Penny pulls at my jacket.

"Come on! We're gonna miss the train!" I pull my small trunk by its handle, pick up my huge purse on my shoulder, and grab Roxy's terrarium in time to see a large puff of smoke come off the stack of the train. The three of us all head for the stairs, and look back to wave at everyone standing on the side of the station. Serena climbs the rest of the way up, and heads to her left, where, once in the car, we see the rest of the group waving at the people outside of the train. As they get smaller and smaller, I feel a little pang inside my chest. The year is starting. It's time for things to get crazy.

We all move to get a compartment, and find Neville along the way. The others had discovered that he was my cousin at our joined birthday party, but somehow, Ron forgot, because when Neville makes a move to hug me, he looks confused.

"Cousins, remember? His dad and my mom are brother and sister." I reach on my tiptoes, because, somehow, he's grown about two inches since the last time I've seen him. "Can't you see the resemblance?"

Hermione and Ron long gone towards the prefects compartment, we trail towards the last of the train, where we know there's bound to be an empty compartment, and Neville avoids one completely after seeing a skinny girl with long blonde hair sitting inside.

"Is that…Luna?" Penny asks quietly. I nod.

"I think so."

"Ohmygosh, I love Luna," Serena says just a little too loudly. Neville gives her one of those "shut up, now," looks, and Ginny opens the door to the compartment.

"Hi Luna. Is it okay if we take these seats?" She nods wordlessly, and everyone starts piling in. I, of course, am last, and by the time I'm about to walk in, most everyone else is seated.

The train lurches.

Let me fill you in on something. I am the clumsiest person on the face of this planet. No, really, I am. I could find the one rock on a football field and trip over it. Flat land does nothing to keep me from falling over my own two feet.

So when the train stalls, and everyone else lurches forward, I manage to step on the wheel of my trunk and fall backwards, flat on my ass, sprawling across the corridor. And nobody in my compartment even notices. The door slams shut with the stall, and I stare up at the red wallpaper covered ceiling, trying to remember what I did to deserve such bad karma. The door of the compartment to my left slides open, and I see a pair of dark Vans under skinny-ish jeans. I follow the jeans up to a light blue tee shirt, and the shirt to the face, and my eyes go wide.

"Are you alright?" the guy says, squatting down as I try to sit up. I make a groaning sound as my head pounds, and his eyes widen too. "Here, let me-

"No, I got it." I push up into a sitting position with my hands, and almost fall again as the train hits a bump. "Okay, I don't got it." He laughs, of all things, and grabs my hand, pulling me up to a sitting position. "Thanks."

"No problem. You sure you're okay?" I look around me, trying to figure out where Roxy went. I see her cage, turned to its side.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I say, hurriedly grabbing it and setting it upright, before I remember that there's an antigravity charm on it, and no matter how hard or what way it falls, both the landscape and Roxy will stay the same direction.

"Whoa," he says, poking the side of the glass box in my hands. "That's wicked. What spell'd you put on it?" I shrug, trying not to fall under the _spell_ of his distinctly Irish accent.

"No idea. It came that way, I think. My parents got it for me before I left, so…" I look up, done with my sentence, and notice that he's not looking at the cage anymore; he's looking at me.

"Are you new?" Hello, Capitan obvious. He stands up, not breaking his gaze, and offers me his hand which, after setting Roxy on the floor, I take, and he hoists me up, grabbing my forearm with his other hand.

"Yeah," I say once I'm up, and I pull my lace tank top over my shorts to make sure that nothings tucked into anything awkward. "Just transferred this year with my friends." I gesture towards the cabin to my right, where, I notice, while everyone else is in an animate conversation with Neville about the odd plant he's holding, Serena and Penny are staring at me.

"Cool," the guy says, sticking out his hand again. "Seamus Finnigan."

"Elle Major." I shake his hand, which is callused and rough, but inviting and warm. "Nice to meet you."

"Likewise." He gives this little sideways smile, and it makes my heart melt. This guy is _much_ cuter than I thought he'd be. Like, seriously. Jake Gilenhall cute. "So." He leans against the doorway, ready to make conversation on a moving train. "You transfer from the Americas?"

"That obvious?" He nods, smiling. "Yeah. Just moved to London over the summer. We're from here originally, but we were all raised in Louisiana." What. The. Hell. Okay. I know, I know. I'm supposed to be all secretive. But why do I find myself spouting out information to this guy that I _just _met?

"We went to the states once when I was little, Los Angeles, I think it was?" He shakes his head, and I take the time to look over him. He's taller than me; maybe 6', 6'1 (I'm almost 5'10, as tall as Neville was before he grew). He's got dark brown hair, a little bit long and choppy, long enough to be cute but not so long as to touch his eyebrows. He is, in a word, adorable. "Bloody crazy, if you ask me. And-

"Elle?" I turn around, and Penny stands in the doorway, which is now open. "You okay? I saw you fall…"

"Yeah. I'm good." I glance back in the compartment, and see Neville holding the small plant in his hands really close to his face. "Uhhh. You might want to…." Before I can finish my sentence, Neville prods the plant with his quill. I pull Seamus out of the view of the door, and against the window next to it. There's a small _pop_, and when I turn around, the entire cabin is completely covered in green slime. Penny's eyes widen, and then slowly close as she takes a deep breath, opening them and stepping out of the cabin, wordlessly turning to look at her back. When she did, I clearly see that almost all of her back, including her hair, is covered in the thick goo. I make a gagging noise and pull my wand out of my holster, and Neville mumbles something to the people in the room. Serena's face is priceless, I note as I glance at their side of the cabin. A mixture of shock and disgust, her blonde hair is matted with the stuff (that's what she gets for sitting next to Neville!) and her green top (hey, wait a second….that's mine!) is covered in it too. "_Scourgify_," I mumble as I point my wand at Penny, and she shakes once all of the green is off, almost bumping into someone coming down the hallway. I glance at the person and almost flip out. She's already dressed in her blue lined robes, and when she speaks, her accent is distinctly Scottish.

"Oh, hello Harry. Bad time?" Harry looks up, and his eyes go wide. Penny glances back at me and lets out a little _guaff_, trying not to laugh. Harry looks pretty damn funny at the moment, and the fact that Cho Chang, of all people, have to walk in at this exact time, just made it so much better.

"Oh…hi."

"Um…Well…" Cho stands awkwardly in the doorway, one hand on her hip. "…just thought I'd say hello…bye then…" She gives us a small glance as she walks passed, and I cover half my face with my hand, trying as hard as Penny is not to laugh.

"Nevermind," Ginny says quickly. "Look, we can get rid of all of this easily." She pulls her wand out and points it around the cabin. "_Scourgify_." All of the goo disappears, like it did on Penny, and I turn back to Seamus just as Neville apologizes.

"How did you know that was going to happen?" he asks with a laugh. I shrug, trying to play it cool.

"Figured it was bound to happen sooner or later. Neville pokes everything."

"I thought you just transferred here though. How do you know everyone already?"

"Neville is Elle's cousin. And we stayed at the Weasley's over the summer," Penny interjects, and holds her hand out. "Penny McAllister. The blonde in there is my sister Serena." She gestures to me. "We've known people at Hogwarts for years."

"Seamus, come'ere!" The three of us all turn to look at the source of the voice, a built dark skinned boy sitting in the cabin Seamus had come out of.

"That's Dean. He's my best mate. And I better get going before he gets riled up. I'll see you later?" He raises his eyebrows at me, and I give a hesitant nod before he smiles. "Nice meeting you both." He slips back into his compartment, and Dean gives us a wave as Seamus sits down next to him. We both wave back, and I look at Penny.

"I thought this whole 'see you later' thing with European guys was a joke." I legitimately thought that until ten seconds ago. Last year, after finishing the entire Georgia Nicolson series (which spawned the Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging movie on Nick), I'd been under the impression that the author was making fun of guys from the UK by the overuse of the phrase "see you later" with a casual headnod and eyebrow raise. But she wasn't, I guess. Because that's what Seamus just gave me. I turn around to walk into our compartment and notice that every single person in it is staring at us. Serena is grinning, but everyone else stares at us with raised eyebrows and tilted heads. Really, guys?

"_What_? Am I not allowed to talk to people of the male persuasion out of this group?" Ron and Hermione don't come back for at least an hour. When the food trolley comes by, Penny, Serena, Harry and I pool and get a bunch of random stuff-mostly chocolate frogs-for everyone to share. When they walk in, I'm holding Roxy in my lap and letting her nibble at a grass flavored Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Bean.

"That's sanitary," Ron cracks as he throws a screaming Pig onto the shelf next to Hedwig.

"I saw you feed Pig two bites of your sandwich last week, Ron," I say without looking up. I pick up what looks like a liver flavored one and throw it to Penny, and she holds it out for Paige, the small jaguar sitting in her lap.

"So?" Ron counters, taking the Chocolate Frog Harry holds out and crashing in the seat next to him.

"I saw you take the next bite, too." Everyone in the cabin makes a face, and Hermione plops down next to me, Crookshanks in her lap. I hold Roxy tighter in my hand, and Crookshanks edges his face closer to her, as if trying to figure out what she is. The entire cabin goes silent, watching. He sniffs a few times, and then, with wiggle of his nose, licks Roxy's face and then stands up out of Hermione's lap, turning around and crawling to the empty corner of the bench. She offhandedly bats at his tail, but struggles to get out of my hand and crawls over Hermione's lap to get to him, where she snuggles into his side, almost completely covered by fur.

Every girl in the compartment lets out a little _awwww_. Ron, Harry and Neville glance at each other, unsure of what to do.

Hermione goes off into a tangent about the prefects, and how horrible it was that Malfoy had made prefect. Serena makes a "what did you expect?" comment, and Penny and I both give her cautioning glances; we aren't supposed to know about Malfoy, really, and we don't "know" anyone else in the grade. By the time the compartment door slides open again, Luna is sitting firmly planted in the corner, glowering at Harry over her upside down issue of the Quibbler, and Neville is half asleep on Penny's shoulder. I know, I know. He's _my_ cousin. But he's more like _our_ brother. The three of us are generally inseparable, so it's only natural that he spent almost as much time with them as he did with me growing up.

"_What?_" Harry says with a snarl once the doors open. Neville snaps awake, and Crookshanks hisses in Malfoy's general direction, rousing a sleeping Roxy. She lets out a small snarl, and I fight a laugh.

"Manners, Potter, or I'll have to give you a detention," the tall, built blonde says. My eyes widen, and I look at Serena across from me. Her eyes are as wide as mine and her sisters; Malfoy. Is. Hot.

Going into this, I'd never really expected any of the actors in the Harry Potter movies to do justice of the characters. I mean, really? I knew from day one that the directors had messed up with Neville; he was blonde until about two years ago, and it'd always been said in the books that he'd been blonde. Seamus was definitely a LOT better than I'd expected. And Hermione. Oh gosh, Hermione. Despite the fact that she was a _lot _prettier than Emma Watson, her hair was still a total mess. And she was not, in fact, _blonde_. And sweet baby Jesus. The Weasley twins? Don't even get me started on them. No offence to the Phelps twins, but they didn't do crap for the boys. I guess Quidditch players come with this natural built body frame, because, shirtless (and yes, I've seen them shirtless-it's called sharing a house with them), they belong on the cover of GQ.

And so does Draco. With (almost) bleach blonde hair, not quite as white as I'd expected, he stands just a little bit taller than me. I notice, without really meaning to, that his eyes are a dark shade of grey. I remember reading that his eyes were cold; hard. And I see that, kind of. But when he glances in my general direction, there's more anger and frustration than anything in them. "You see, I, unlike you, have been made a prefect, which means that I, unlike you, have the power to hand out punishments."

"Yeah," Harry starts with a raise of his eyebrows. "But you, unlike me, are a git, so get out and leave us alone." Everyone in the compartment laughs, and Malfoy sneers.

"Tell me, how does it feel being second-best to Weasley, Potter?" Malfoy says with a smirk.

"Shut it, Malfoy."

"Shut up, Malfoy." Serena and Hermione speak at the same time, and my hand moves to cover half my face, peeking between my hands and Penny, who's making an almost identical gesture.

"I seem to have touched a nerve…in quite a few people. And who is this?" Draco glances around at the three of us, and smirks. "New students, eh?" He catches my eye, and grins, and then looks at Harry. "Well, just watch yourself, Potter, because I'll be _dogging _your footsteps in case you step out of line." Hermione stands up, obviously offended at Draco's comment about Sirius.

"Get out!" she snarls, and with a final malicious look at all of us, Malfoy leaves, Crab and Goyle (who, I might add, the movie _does _do justice for-both are equally as ugly as their portrayers) following not far behind.

It's a good few hours later when Hermione stands up, announcing we should change. Penny, Serena and I have our uniforms already stuck in our small trunks above us, and I pull the bag holding everything out and follow Hermione, Ginny and Luna to the girls' changing compartments in the back. A few giggling Hufflepuffs come out of one, and I begin to think of what type of charms must be set on them to keep the boys out.

"What are _those_?" Hermione says as I finish buttoning my white shirt. In one hand, I'm holding a pair of black tights.

"My tights?"

"I meant _those_." She points to the small white hearts on the tights, and I raise my eyebrows.

"They're hearts. What about them?"

"Is that dress code?" Ginny asks with a questioning glance. I shrug.

"The dress code Dumbledore gave me just said 'black tights or charcoal grey socks.' I just went with it." I begin to pull them on when Luna speaks.

"I think they're lovely," she says with a smile, and then proceeds to pull out a pair of worn black high top converse spackled with black sparkles all over them. I reach over and she gives me a silent high five.

"None of us like plain uniforms very well-we all went to private school in elementary, and we never went completely by the rules there either." As she speaks, Penny pulls out a pair of black flats with large black flowers on the toes. Luna giggles.

"But won't you get in trouble?" Hermione asks, clutching her own black flats to her chest. I laugh.

"No more than you, Ron or Harry will," Serena say with a head shake. "You really think Dumbledore will let any of us get in trouble over dress code-which we're not really breaking?" I silently glance at Luna, and she's no longer paying attention-she's lacing up her shoes.

"Besides," I start. "You're our prefect. And you're not going to chastise us, now are you?" Hermione bites her lip, and Ginny shakes her head, snorting.

"You three are insane," she says, and I clip on my plain skinny tie, pulling on my grey sweater vest and black penny loafers.

"Certifiably," Serena says with a nod, and all six of us find ourselves glancing in the large mirror on the wall. Penny leans forward, running her fingers under her eyes to make sure there's no eyeliner there. Luna adjusts the blue butterfly clip in her hair, which matches her house tie. Serena glosses her lips and smacks them. Ginny tightens her tie. Hermione straightens her prefect badge on her chest. I fluff my hair and re-place the small purple bow headband behind my ears. This was it. Less than an hour and we'd be at Hogwarts.

When the train finally begins to slow down, the window is so thickly covered in grime and fog and rain that I can't see through it. We all pile out of the compartment, Hermione and Ron disappearing into the crowds already outside. I hear Hermione's voice yelling on the platform "First years, first years please find the nearest professor and follow them to the boats-they will take you to the castle." Ginny pulls Crookshanks from my arms, and Luna takes Pig from Harry, who's juggling the two animals and his small bag behind him. The excitement in the hall is kind of like exiting an airplane, only uniformed. When we finally get out, Ginny is the first to disappear, followed by Luna. The three of us stand with Harry and Neville, completely astonished. The mass chaos on the platform is like nothing I've ever seen before. A tall, thin woman with a startling hair cut is calling out for the first years in unison with Hermione, and I see Ron standing to her side, giving a small first year boy a chastising look and pointing to the growing line of his classmates behind the woman.

"We're supposed to go with everyone else, right? Not the first years?" Penny and I nod silently at Serena's question. Dumbledore had told us to go ahead and take the carriages with our friends, and to meet up with Professor McGonagall at the doors of the Great Hall for sorting. We follow Neville and Harry towards the carriages, and I'm talking to Serena about changing the colors of our tights (hers were polka dotted) once we got sorted, when suddenly the entire group halted. I look up, and Penny let out a gasp. Standing in front of us is a large, black beast slightly resembling a horse. Resting at its side were boney wings, almost bat like, and it kicked its leg, nodding its pointy head and making a small noise.

"Is that…" Penny speaks only loud enough to where I can hear her, and I nod. I see Neville and Serena exchange a confused glance, and I step back, leaning into Serena's ear.

"Thesterals." Her eyes widen, and I nod just as Ron comes up. He asks where Pig is, and Harry and I explain that Luna has him. They mention something about Hagrid, and for the first time I realize what's missing from the Platform. Hermione finally appears, and seconds later so does Ginny, and she hands off Crookshanks. I follow Hermione and Ginny with Serena, but Penny stays, still staring at the large beast in front of her. From a distance, I watch Ron come face to face with one, and give Harry a look that plainly questions his sanity. After Serena, Hermione and Ginny pile into the carriage, I wait for the others. Ron goes in first, and Luna, in that dreamy voice of hers, explains to Harry that she can see them too. After she climbs the stairs, I do too, followed by Harry, and we're off to the castle.

In the ten minutes it takes to ride there, I feel my heart begin to race. Everyone is kind of off in their own little worlds. Luna is, of course, reading an issue of the Quibbler after a small squabble with Ron, so I take this as my time to speak up.

"Guys?" Serena and Penny turn towards me, and I say it again. "Guys!" Ginny, Ron, Hermione, Neville and Harry all look towards me, and I sit back in my seat, kind of surprised at all the eyes looking at me. I take a second, trying to gather my thoughts. "Listen, I just wanted to say…" Penny raises her eyebrows at me. "I just wanted to say that whatever happens, we stick together." Luna, over her issue of the Quibbler, raises her own eyebrows at me. "This includes you too, Luna. You seem pretty cool." I look down at my hands. "I want to make sure that no matter what the outcome of the sorting ceremony, we're all still together. Nothing can change that-not even being in separate houses."

"Is there something you're not telling us?" Ginny asks with a very Luna-esque tilt of the head. I shake my head.

"Of course not! I just mean…there's a 25 percent chance we'll end up in Gryffindor with all of you, no offence Luna."

"None taken."

"And even less of a chance of _all_ of us being in there with y'all."

"_Y'all_." Ron snickers, and Hermione hits him on the leg.

"It's gonna be okay, Elle," Ginny says, putting her arm around my shoulder. "I'm not even in the same year as these three, and I still manage to get annoyed with how much I see them." She gestures to the three across from us, and we all laugh. "It doesn't matter what house you end up in-we all intermingle. Right Luna?" She pulls her magazine further down and gives us all a (rather creepy) smile.

When we arrive, my breath is quite literally taken away. I fall out of the compartment going down the stairs and land chest first on the grass.

"Oh Merlin!" Neville races down the stairs and kneels next to me. "Are you okay?"

"No…" I moan, pushing up with my arms. Ginny, following closely behind him, helps me get into a sitting position, and brushes some dirt off my knees. "I think my boobs deflated a cup size." She lets out a laugh, Neville makes a face, and I work my way to standing position as Ron and Harry unload our stuff into the growing pile by the front doors. One by one, house elves apparate to the pile, grab something, and apparate back out. We followed everyone into the castle, which looked dark and brooding in the gloomy weather, and while everyone else headed into the Great Hall, the three of us stood outside of the doors, waiting for Professor McGonagall.

"I can't believe it," Penny says, taking in her surroundings. "We're in Hogwarts."

"We're in _Hogwarts_," Serena echoes. I look inside the Great Hall again, and see that Harry and everyone are sitting down at the table, but they leave a couple seats between them and the fourth years sitting down, and I see Fred and George force Lee to move down one seat so they could too. Ginny and Hermione both look our way and give us thumbs up, which only I return. Because only I know my fate. Penny and Serena are left to the gods. I scan the staff table with everyone sitting at the Gryffindor table-I spot Snape and scowl, Dumbledore sitting in his chair in the middle, smiling at everyone. And then my eyes settle on a bit, fluffy ball of _pink_.

"Holy shit." I turn back around, my back square to the door, and cover my face with my hand. "How could we have forgotten?"

"Forgotten what?" Penny asks, and leans into the doorway to look where I just had. Her eyes go wide, and she steps back. "_Oh_."

"Oh what?" Serena mimics our footsteps, and when she looks at the staff table, her eyes widen too. "HOLY HELL IS THAT-

Penny manages to get her hand around Serena's mouth and get her out of the doorway in time for half of the people at the backs of the table, mostly what look like seventh years, to look in our direction. I'm still in the doorway, and give an awkward smile and wave. I see a few girls give my legs weird looks, and before any of them can make comments I slowly make my way out of their view.

"This way, first years, this way!" I hear a woman's voice with a heavy Scottish accent, and turn to see a large group of eleven year olds being escorted to the door by a woman in a tall, pointed hat and dark green robes. She turns at the doorway, and the group behind her comes to a halt, some of the kids in the back smashing into each other. "Are you…" she looks down at her list, "Isabella, Penny and Serena?"

"That's us!" Serena says with a smile. Professor McGonagall gives us a small smile back and picks up the stool sitting next to us. The sorting hat is in her hand, and I let out a deep breath.

"Albus told me about you three. Come on then. You'll be sorted first." _First?! _My mind screams. But we follow her into the Great Hall, and the chatter in the room dies down. As we make our way down the middle of the room, Neville, Hermione, Harry, Ron and Ginny all stick their hands out, and we each give them high fives as we pass. When I glance back, Fred and George give me matching winks, and I let out a little giggle. McGonagall sets the stool down on the little stage, and then puts the sorting hat on top of it. And it starts to sing. Yeah, sing. I completely forgot that it does that. I dose in and out during the song, swaying back and forth on my feet with my arms crossed. I see Serena lean into Penny and fake a snoring noise, and think that all of us are equally as bored. Until the very end.

_Oh, know the perils, read the signs,_

_the warning history shows,_

_for our Hogwarts is in danger_

_from external, deadly foes_

_And we must unite inside her_

_or we'll crumble from within_

_I have told you, I have warned you..._

_let the Sorting now begin._

Penny, Serena and I look at each other. I'd forgotten about that, too. The warning the sorting hat gave. When the room breaks into applause, the three of us clap too, but we lean in.

"Do you think everyone will catch on…about the danger bit?" Serena asks with a raised eyebrow.

"Let's hope so!" Penny says with a shrug. The rest of the room chatters away, but we fall silent at the glance of Professor McGonagall, whose looks could kill. The rest of the room goes quiet, and she clears her throat.

"Before we begin sorting the first years, we have a few transfer students that need to be sorted first. Fifth years," she starts, glancing around the room over the scroll she pulls open, "please prepare to make room for your fellow students." She looks at the list, and speaks again. "Major, Isabella." With a petrified glance back at my friends, I walk up on the stage and sit down on the stool. I see Dumbledore sit up out of the corner of my eye. McGonagall puts the hat on my head, and almost at once, I hear it speak.

"Oh, it's _you_."

_Yeah, it's me?_

"Dumbledore told me about you. He told me to make sure I put you in Gryffindor." He lets out a little scoff. "I make _sure _of nothing. Now let's see here…" He's silent for a moment. "I see. _I see_."

_I get it, you _see_._

"Don't get snappy with me." I blink, surprised. I knew that it could get inside my head, but I didn't think it would read all my thoughts. "Now, it looks like Dumbledore was spot on the galleon, however invasive in my job he may have been. Better be…GRYFFINDOR!" Despite the better of me, I breathe out a sigh of relief and follow the immediate cheers of most of the room (I note that a good percent of Slytherin looks completely bored) towards the Gryffindor table, sitting myself between George and embarrassingly enough, Fred. I'm sandwiched between the two of them. George pulls me into a hug, and I blush as the people around me (Hermione, Ron, Harry, Neville and Ginny are across the table) high-five me. Fred gives me a grin, and I laugh.

"McAllister, Penny!" The room goes silent again, and I watch, slightly petrified. McGonogall puts the hat on her head, and it's relatively silent for a few seconds. I see Penny's eyebrows shoot up, and then the hat opens its mouth.

"SLYTHERIN!"

Shock. Complete and utter shock is the only thing I feel at this moment. Penny gives her sister a pained look, and then walks over towards the Slytherin table. They're the only ones clapping aside from a few random Hufflepuffs, who look as confused as I am. Slytherin? Really? For _Penny_? Penny is probably one of the nicest people I know, aside from (now) Luna and maybe Mrs. Weasley. I watch as two girls separate at the table, and Penny sits down, throwing me a glance. Malfoy sits only a few seats down from her, and he leans forward says something to the people across from them. Penny crosses her arms uncomfortably and leans down on the table, covering her face with her hands. "McAllister, Serena." I look back at where Serena's standing, and she looks like she's about to cry. Before she sits, she throws a panicked glance at Dumbledore, which he returns with a knowing smile. I feel the urge to slap him at the moment. As she sits on the stool, I throw a look at Fred and George. Fred silently takes my hand below the table and holds it, and then gives me an assuring smile that says "everything is going to be all right." I return the smile as best I can, and turn back to watch Serena. As soon as the hat touches her head, I see it move.

"GRYFFINDOR!" My eyes widen, and I look around the table and break into applause with everyone else. Serena grins, but throws a look at her sister across the room as she skips over to our table, sitting between Ron and Ginny. Ginny pulls her into a hug, and we all high five her. When the celebration is done, Serena looks over her shoulder. I look over and see that while Penny still looks extremely uncomfortable, she and the girl next to her, with short, blonde hair and wide eyes, are already in what looks to be a pretty good conversation. The sorting continues, finally finishing with Rose Zellar, who runs to Hufflepuff so quickly she almost trips on her robes. Dumbledore, grasping the table, stands up and looks around the room.

"To our newcomers-welcome! To our old hands-welcome back!" He smiles. "There is a time for speech making, but this is not it. Tuck in!" Just as we look back at the table, food seems to materialize out of nowhere, and Serena and I give each other satisfied looks over the table as we both reach for the spoon to the mashed potatoes. When we started eating, I notice for the first time that seated on the other side of George is what looks to be a ghost. I'm momentarily stunned; it's not every day you see something you've thought for years was just an old wives tale to scare the shit out of little kids. Then again, look where I am. So transparent I can barely see him, he's dressed in mid-millennia clothing, and when he starts speaking to Hermione, he practically dripped of royalty.

"Wait a second," I interrupt. He's telling everyone about the warnings he's heard the hat give before. Conversation stops, and he looks at me. "Are you Sir Nicholas?" He smiles and nods.

"I am, young lady. And you are?"

"Elle Major. I'm a transfer student from the US."

"The United States!" he says with a little too much enthusiasm. "My, my! I've wanted to visit the states since I was a young ghost, but not being able to go over water has kept me from, as you people say, crossing the pond?" I smile and nod.

"Anyways," Harry interrupts, giving me a cross look. "About the warnings?" The four of them, Hermione, Ron, Harry and Sir N, all bantered on, Ron, as per usual, sticking his foot in his mouth. The entire conversation ended with Sir Nicholas floating away and Ron and Hermione in a huffy silence.

"WELL." Fred slams his drink on the table, wiping is mouth with the sleeve of his robe. "I'm quite full, if I do say so myself."

"Haven't felt this ready to pop in ages," George mimics is brother, setting his cup down with equal vigor.

"I feel ready to pop at every single one of your mother's meals," I say with a raise of my eyebrows.

"I don't!" I give a cursory glance at Serena from across the table.

"That's because you and your sister are both black holes-everything edible around you disappears, never to be seen again." Serena blushes as Ron claps her on the back, just as the room begins to go slightly silent. I notice for the first time that Dumbledore is standing, and I gesture up to the table for the remaining people still talking.

"Well," Dumbledore starts. "Now that we are all digesting another magnificent feast, I beg a few moments of your attention for the usual start-of-term notices. First year students aught to know that the forest in the grounds is out of bounds to students." He gives a playfull smile at our table. "And a few of our older students aught to know by now too." Hermione, Ron and Harry all smirk at each other, and though I hide it from them, Serena and I exchange a knowing glance across the table. Dumbledore continues his speech, introducing the two new members of the staff, Grubbly-Plank as the new Care of Magical Creatures teacher, and then, to my utter horror, as well as everyone else's at the table, the pink fluffball as the new DADA teacher. I think that's a sheer sign of irony if I've ever seen one. He goes straight from staff into Quidditch try outs, and I perk up-Serena and I have both been interested in trying out, even if there are no present available spots, just so people know we can play. It's not until there's a small little throaty laugh (I'm avoiding using the Hem-hem phrase Rowling's so fond of) that Dumbledore stops, momentarily shocked, realizing that Umbridge wants to make a speech. She stands up, quite carefully, and comes around the table, her eyes sweeping across the room.

"Well, it is lovely to be back at Hogwarts, I must say. And to have such happy little faces looking up at me." Our group kind of looks at each other, and then around the room. No one looks very happy. "I am very much looking forward to getting to know you all and I'm sure we'll be very good friends!"

"_That's likely_." My eyes widen, and I look back and forth at the male twins. Instead of the three of us girls speaking at once, the Weasley twins and I, without really planning it, have said the same thing. The immediate area around us stares-Serena especially-and I let out a strangled laugh.

"I'll be her friend as long as I don't have to borrow that cardigan!" a dark skinned girl further down the table giggles, and her friends follow. I lean over the table to talk to Hermione.

"Who are they?" I ask with a nod at the two girls who were still laughing. She rolls her eyes, and I know what she's going to say.

"Our roommates." I close my eyes, momentarily disturbed, as Umbridge speak again. This time, though, her voice sounds different. There's something…heavier about it. Like she's caught her breath or something.

"The Ministry of Magic has always considered the education of young witches and wizards to be of vital importance. The rare gifts with which you were born may come to nothing if not nurtured and honored by careful instruction. The ancient skills unique to the wizarding community must be passed down the generations lest we lose them forever. The treasure trove of magical knowledge amassed by our ancestors must be guarded, replenished and polished by those who have been called to the noble profession of teaching." She makes a little gesture towards the table behind her, and I look at McGonagall. She is quite scary looking, if I do say so myself. "Every headmaster and headmistress of Hogwarts has brought something new to the weight task of governing this historic school. And that is as it should be, for without progress there will be stagnation and decay. There again, progress for the sake of progress must be discouraged, for our tried and tested traditions often require no tinkering. A balance, then, between old and new, between permanence and change, between tradition and innovation…." I look at Serena across the table, and she's in almost the exact same position as me; head leaning on her hand, trying not to fall asleep. I know, I know. Most of this stuff is important to us; we should be listening and alert at all times. But can you blame a girl for falling asleep when this toad is talking? She throws me a look that says "Can you believe her?" I give a half hearted shrug, and glance around the table. Most people look just as bored as us. Ron is staring at a small piece of sausage on the table as if contemplating whether he should eat it or not. Harry is staring over to the Ravenclaw table. Hermione, it seems, is the only one really paying attention. And she does _not _look happy.

"…because some changes will be for the better, while others will come, in the fullness of time, to be recognized as errors of judgment. Meanwhile, some old habits will be retained, and rightly so, whereas others, outmoded and outworn, must be abandoned. Let us move forward, then, into a new era of openness, effectiveness, and accountability, intent on preserving what ought to be preserved, perfecting what needs to be perfected, and pruning wherever we find practices that ought to be prohibited." She finishes with a tiny little giggle that makes my blood boil, and as she sits down only Dumbledore, a few of the staff members and a scattering of students clap.

"Thank you very much, Professor Umbridge, that was most illuminating." He makes a little gesture to her. "Now-as I was saying, Quidditch tryouts will be held…"

"Yes, it certainly was illuminating," Hermione says.

"You're _not _telling me you enjoyed it," Ron replies quietly. "That was about the dullest speech I've ever heard, and I grew up with Percy."

"She said illuminating." Serena spoke with her hand still cradling her head. "Not enjoyable."

"It explained a lot." Harry, Ron and Ginny all give Hermione a look, Fred and George are in an animate conversation with the people on either side of them (Angelina and Lee, I presume), but Serena, Hermione and I all glance at each other-she knows we understand.

"Did it?" Harry says with a laugh. "Sounded like a load of waffle to me."

"Waffle?" Serena repeats, just as confused as I am.

"Horseshit," George whispers out of nowhere, and I laugh. Hermione sends him a scolding look, but continues with her explanation.

"There was some important stuff hidden in the waffle," she says.

"Was there?" Ron looks blank.

"How about 'progress for the sake of progress must be discouraged'? How about 'pruning wherever we find practices that ought to be prohibited'?"

"Well what does that mean?" Ron and Harry look even more confused, but Ginny seems to be catching on.

"I'll tell you what it means," Hermione says, resting her hands on the table. "It means the Ministry's interfering at Hogwarts."

"Of course," I start. "The year we get here and things go to the crapper. Mark my words, this year is going to suck." That's all I say, not giving away too much, as the room erupts in sounds of chairs moving back and silverwear clattering. Realizing that we were dismissed, Hermione jumps up, flustered.

"Ron! We're supposed to show the first years where to go…."

Serena and I follow Fred, George and Lee back to the common room. Ginny splits off with her fourth year friends, and since Ron and Hermione have to lead the first years, and Harry had since disappeared to avoid all the chatter about him, we walk along with the three boys as they reminisce on some of the finer pranks and jokes they've pulled in different parts of the castle. The common room, as we remembered, is all the way up on the seventh floor, so as we change staircase after staircase, I watch each picture wave at us, and even wave back a few times at the better looking ones that don't portray some stingy old man. When I look up, I'm momentarily amazed. Just as I'd imagined, far above me the staircases move back and forth.

"Here we are," George says with a gesture at the painting. "The Fat Lady."

"Oh Merlin," the woman in the picture laughs, taking a sip of her drink. "You three are still here? Figured you'd be gone this year."

"Nope," Fred says with a grin. "Still here." She shakes her head and rolls her eyes, and then seems to see us.

"Who are these two? I've never seen them around."

"New students, from the Americas. Elle and Serena." He gestures to the two of us.

"Welcome to Hogwarts, ladies." She nods at us, and I smile, giving a little half wave. "Now, I would assume one of you knows the password?"

"I do!" Serena says, jumping excitedly. The four of us turn to look at her, and she crosses her arms. "What? Hermione told us on the train while you were busy talking to Mr. Muscle outside. It's Neville's plant. _Mimbulus mimbletonia_." The Fat Lady smiles for the first time, and then her portrait swings open. Serena and I look at each other. This is it. First time in our common room. When we follow the guys in, I hear Serena gasp next to me. The room is huge; with tall ceilings painted in a deep red, all the portraits hang in gold frames. Large, cushy looking chairs and couches are everywhere (most are already occupied by groups of people). Most of the room is full of students-a lot of them already dressed in their pajamas and sweat pants.

"Eyyyyy!" Fred and George call out simultaneously, and the entire room responds with rousing calls, bringing them into the group. "Your room is up there!" Fred calls over someone's head. He points to the staircase behind him. "Fifth door up!" I look at Serena, and then, grinning, run towards the stairs. We make it up the five floors (though it feels like a lot shorter…possibly the whole wizard space thing?) and stand outside the door that says "Fifth Years" on it. We can hear Lavender and Parvati giggling inside. With a moment's hesitation, I push the door open. The two girls stand at beds on the far left side of the backwall, right next to each other. Parvati is picking clothes up out of her trunk and laying them out on her bed. Lavender is putting up posters of a bunch of wizarding boy bands on the wall behind her bed. I'm momentarily shocked by the sheer size of the room compared to how the tower looks from the outside; two large tables sit on the far left side of the room, dark, comfy looking chairs placed around them. The back wall, curved as it is, is lined with five double beds, each with white sheets and dark red comforters (I thank Jesus that the two of us brought our bedding from home). On my right, between the door of what looks to be the bathroom, five huge, dark wood wardrobes sit against the wall. Two are already open, clothes hanging about and drawers pulled out. Serena seems just as marveled as I am. When I knock on the door quietly, both girls in the room turn around.

"Oh!" Parvati says, stepping away from her bed. "You two must be the new girls!" She smiles, and both of them come towards us.

"I'm Lavender Brown," the lighter skinned girl says. She looks kind of like I'd imagined. Her light, curly hair is pulled into a loose braid on one side of her head, pulled back from her face with a gold headband, the end tied with a red ribbon. It's very modern looking and in style; good to know we weren't the only ones who kept up with Muggle fashions. "And this is Parvati Patil."

"It's great to meet you both," Serena says, giving a warm smile. "I'm Serena McAllister, and this is Elle Major." Both of them smile, and Parvati and then turns around a bit.

"Your things were brought up with ours, I think. Hermione's on the far right, and then…who's trunk is the purple one?" I raise my hand slightly. "Yours is right next to Hermione, and then I guess Serena's is in the middle." They walk back to their beds. "I'm at this one, and Lav has the one on the far left." Lavender gestures across the room.

"Each of us has a wardrobe over there. And then we each have a vanity in the bathroom. You guys came in a good year, though. They just added charging stations to the girl's rooms before fourth year." My eyes widen. I hadn't thought about that. I'd packed my curling and straightening irons, and my phone and laptop not even thinking about the electrics issue Hogwarts has had.

"I thought electronics didn't work at Hogwarts?" Serena asks, walking towards her trunk. I nod.

"They didn't for a while," Lavender says. "I think it's been that way since they first came around. But last year, with us hosting the Triwizard, Dumbledore thought it might be a good idea to have some added to the rooms. Proper grooming and all." She rolled her eyes. "Most of us still use charms for drying and straightening hair, but it's fun to have for iPod's and stuff, which I got Vati into last year." She gives Parvati a grin. "There's no internet or phone service, but we can still use computers sometimes. They have one in the library now for weekend use. And the charging stations are great. There's no outlets or anything." She pulls the curtain away by her bed to reveal a small black box stuck to the wall. "Dumbledore's idea. You just touch the end of the chord to it and it charges. It lasts for a while too. Works on phones, even if we can't use them."

"There are some in the bathroom as well, if you use Muggle straightners or anything." Parvati pointed to the restroom. "It's pretty cool in here. Things have gotten a lot better in the last couple of years."

"Sounds like it," Serena says, crossing her arms and giving me an amazed look. I return the look, walking over to my bed and pulling my trunk open. The four of us continue to unpack, putting our clothes in the wardrobes, accessories hanging on the nails inside the small cabinet on the sides, shoes in the caddies under the bed, beauty products in drawers and baskets under each vanity in the bathroom, all lined up adjacent to the showers. I notice as time goes on, that in the small spots on the top of our wardrobes and vanities in the bathroom, our initials began to carve themselves into the wood. At first I think it's something weird going on, but Lavender explains that it happened every year; mostly so the house elves could tell where to put the clean clothes and toiletries when they came to restock during classes. "This is so different from what I imagined," Serena sighs, folding a pair of jeans and stuffing them into one of the drawers.

"Well what did you expect?" Lavender laughs. "Cobwebs and dingy curtains and old rusty beds?" She gives me a silent "well, kind of" nod, and I smile as I hang up one of my button ups on the rod in my wardrobe.

"I don't know. Just…it's weird being here. Being away from home. And we've been imagining Hogwarts for…" She stops short, as I give her a cautioning glance. "For months now. And this certainly isn't how we expected it."

"It's going to get worse with that cow Umbridge running the show." The four of us turn around to see Hermione standing in the doorway, one hand on her hip, the other pushing her hair away from her face. "I just saw her in the hallway, and she was practically growling at a pair of third years holding hands." I roll my eyes with Serena. "I mean, I can understand no PDA, but really?"

"Well if she's from the ministry I'm not really that surprised," Serena says, shoving her drawer closed. The two of us go back to our trunks and pull out the last remaining things. Hermione starts unpacking, and Serena and I are stacking books (mostly mine) into the bookshelf between our beds when there's a loud _pop_, and the five of us turn around to see a house elf with large ears standing in the middle of the room with his eyes covered by his hand.

"Missus Hermione?" He turns his body around aimlessly, and Hermione's eyes widen.

"Dobby!" she calls with a laugh. "It's safe to look. We're all decent." He gives a relieved sigh and uncovers his eyes, which go wide at the sight of Hermione.

"Missus Hermione! It is so good to see you! Dobby has missed you and Misters Potter and Weasley very much over the summer." Hermione smiles, walking towards him and pulling him into a small hug. Serena and I exchange shocked glances.

"It's good to see you too!" She looks at him. "What can we do you for?" He gives a wide grin.

"Professor Dumbledore sent Dobby on an important job. He says…he says for Dobby to fetch a Missus McAllister and a Missus Major." He looks around the room, and spotting us, smiles. "You must be the Missus he was talking about." I smile back, and the two of us set our remaining books down on the bed and walk up to him.

"We are. I'm Elle Major, and this is Serena McAllister."

"I am Dobby, Missus. Dobby, the house elf." He gives a small bow, and a giggle escapes my lips. "Professor Dumbledore requests to see you in his office." He gestures for us to come closer, and the two of us lean down. "He also asks that you bring your…" He pauses, looking like he was thinking. "Your bell phones?" The two of us look at Hermione, confused.

"Cell phones?" she offers quietly with a shrug. The two of us nod in understanding, and ask Dobby to take us to Professor Dumbledore's office, since we didn't know the way. We grabbed our phones out of our side drawers, and with a questioning look from Hermione, followed Dobby down the ever changing stairs and into a long corridor, at the end of which was a large stone gargoyle. Dobby ushered us into the sides of the statue, and then, without stepping onto the small platform with us, mutters "Lemon Drops" under his breath. He waves as the platform rotates down, and we both give him small smiles before looking at each other. I can see worry wrinkles creasing Serena's forehead, and lay a hand on her arm as we arrive in the office. It's huge, as I expected. Moving portraits stuff the walls, and taxidermy of all shapes and sizes sit on shelves lined with books covering everything from Babbity Rabbity and Her Cackling Stump to the History of the Telephone. I blink, taking in my surroundings, before I hear a voice from the far side of the room.

"But I just don't get it," the voice sniffles. Serena and I look at each other in shock. It's Penny! "I'm not evil! I don't have a mean bone in my body!"

"My dear," Dumbledore's voice sooths. As we walk up, I see the beginnings of the sleeves of Penny's robes; unlike ours, hers have already been changed to a dark, deep green for her house, and the emblem on her chest made me squirm; snakes scare the crap out of me. "Being sorted into Slytherin doesn't mean your evil! It just means you're more cunning than anything else."

"Penny!" Serena calls, and she turns around, shocked, before standing up and pulling her sister into a hug. I hear both of them let out sobs before they pull apart, and my own eyes sting with tears. They stand, talking to each other for a moment, before Dumbledore clears his throat. After a few minutes of settling down, Serena starts in on Dumbledore. "How the heck could you let her get sorted into Slytherin? After what we're doing for you; for all of you. She's going to be away from all of us for the next three years. We'll be living separate lives and-

"Dear, dear," Dumbledore interrupts. "I have no control over where the Sorting Hat puts students. He makes the decisions, not I." I catch the glance he throws in my direction and fight an eye roll. "But I can assure you that you three will be seeing each other a lot more than you think over the next three years." He stands up, and holds out a tin to us. "Lemon drops?" I take one cautiously and pop it in my mouth as the others do the same. "I want you three to have time to meet up and talk about everything going on in a safe environment."

"You mean where Umbridge won't be watching our every move?" He smiles quizzically.

"Something tells me you three strongly dislike her for reasons other than her general personality." I cut the other two off before they can respond.

"I don't think it'd be right to tell you-it's definitely something that kind of needs to happen." The girls look at me curiously, and I raise my eyebrows back. "What? It is. There's a reason things are so tensiony in 7." For a second, they consider what I'm saying, and then they both make silent "o" faces. Comprehension, at last. I turn back to Dumbledore. "I say meetings at least once every couple of weeks here with you, and then possibly more on our own to talk about stuff we see and hear." He doesn't seem to object. In fact, he leans back in his seat, nodding.

"Sounds like a plan to me."

It takes a while for Dumbledore to finish his explanations of things around the castle; schedules, Hogsmeade weekends, the sort of things First Years would learn from Prefects or brothers and sisters that weren't necessarily in the books. "And now for your cell phones." He holds out his hand and I reach into my inside pocket of my robe, pulling mine out. Penny and Serena do the same and we each hand them to him. The three extremely similar cases stacked on top of each other look like a rainbow; blue, pink and purple all lined up. He sets them on the table in front of each of us and then pulls out his wand, silently tapping each one with the tip for a few seconds. "This will allow the three of you to communicate with each other in the castle. Other students will not be able to see that they work, but you three can, I believe the correct phrase is, _text _each other when need be and make calls-but do so sparingly, please. I don't want students questioning why you're walking around holding a phone that isn't even supposed to work in the castle." The three of us pick up our phones, and I immediately find my text messaging button and send a quick _hello_ to Penny. Sure enough, three seconds later, her phone gives a little _ping_, and I grin. _Awesome._

As the planning of future meetings finishes, the three of us are heading out when Dumbledore calls "Ms. Major, can I speak to you for one moment alone?" I give an assuring nod to the girls as they head into the annex, ready to leave, and sigh before turning around. "Just one quick thing. Wednesday night I'll need you here as soon as you finish dinner." I silently raise an eyebrow, but nod, turning around to leave. "Elle?" I swivel back on my heels, waiting for him to finish his sentence. But when I do, he looks different; his face is less…teacher, more parent. More "I care" than "I need to know." "You know I'm not doing any of this to inconvenience you, correct? That this wasn't all some master plan to uproot your lives and make you start all over?" I lean against the back of the chair, subconsciously rubbing my temples.

"I know. I'm not trying to be a b…" I pause momentarily, rethinking my words. "A brat. It's just…starting over, like you said. It wasn't in my plans; in any of ours." I look at him, sitting back in his chair, a serene look on his face. I wonder, momentarily, if he has any idea what's going to happen to him. Any at all. But I don't think dying; I don't think being slowly killed by a cursed ring or being thrown off a tower by an Aveda Kedevra cast by one of your best friends is really in his plans either. "High school was supposed to be a breeze for us. The three of us, with our friends. We were all going to get the hell out of Louisiana the second we graduated; head some place like London or Paris and start a boutique or restaurant." I look down at the plush, purple apholstry on the chair and note that it matches his robe. "And sure, now we're living in London. With our _parents_." I pause again, gathering my thoughts. "We're planners, the three of us are. Me mostly. And after having everything planned out for so long, it's weird not knowing what's going to happen next. We have this roadmap in front of us; the books gave us that. But what happens inbetween those scenes we read? What moments did we not get to hear about? Those are what I'm scared for. Those are why I'm freaking out."

Serena and I are the first ready in the morning (possibly because Hermione was at the first Prefects meeting with Ron until around midnight, and Lavender and Parvati were up well into the night gabbing about God knows what), and take the time to observe everything as we make our way to the Great Hall for breakfast. Seamus and Dean are the only ones down yet, and as we head to sit down across from them they both look up from the sports section of the _Daily Prophet _they're both reading. Must be yesterdays copy, because from what Hermione told me and from what I know, the owls don't arrive till most people are already here. "Morning!" Serena says in her usual chipper tone. Dean gives her a smile back but Seamus just grunts, pouring more coffee into the mug in front of him.

"Rough night?" I ask.

"It is when you have a wand pointed at you," Seamus says in a gravely voice. I raise my eyebrows, and Dean rolls his eyes. "Oh, come on," he continued, looking from Dean to the two of us. "You can't say you haven't had your doubts about both of their sanities." We're both thoroughly confused, until Dean, who's picked the sports page back up, looks at Seamus.

"I think Harry's perfectly sane, mate. Dumbledore too. But that's just my opinion." Serena and I look at each other as it dawns on us. The_ fight_. The fight between Seamus and Harry that causes all that tension first term; about his mother and Dumbledore and the night in the graveyard. Lavender, in similar fashion, had loudly announced _she_ didn't believe Harry either last night. But when the three of us plainly told her to shut up (Serena in not such nice words), she promptly did so.

"Of course Harry's sane," Serena says, grabbing piece of toast and swiping some butter on it. "Dumbledore, however, is questionable." Dean and Serena share a small smile, but I hit her under the table. _Not. Helping._

"I just don't see how fighting about it helps anything." I shrug and look up at Seamus. He's avoiding eye contact with me, and I wonder if this is because he's mad that I don't agree with him or mad I'm right.

When Professor McGonnogal hands out the schedules as we continue breakfast (I completely avoid the kippers, which Ron tries to thrust at me the second he sits down), I groan out load. "Look at the amount of classes," Serena says, thrusting her time table at me. Comparatively to our six classes a day schedule (two less than the normal students, because we, as mostly AP kids, only needed six more credits between last year and this year) I compare the two and see that we have almost all the same classes but instead of the two Divination spots in her week, I've got Ancient Runes and Arithmancy. I inwardly remind myself to ask Dumbledore about this on Wednesday and pull Hermione's from her hands in the middle of her examiniation of it.

"Hey!" she calls, and I roll my eyes, comparing them like I did mine and Serena's.

"We have all the same classes." Her eyes widen and she pulls both sheets out of my hands as Ron and Harry look on in amazement.

"I guess it makes sense you're taking Arithmancy-you were in Muggle school like I was." I have a momentary sense of panic as she says this, then remember why she knows we had muggle schooling. I told her we spent our elementary days in regular school after Penny mentioned learning American history. According to our cover up, our parents wanted us to "learn the history of the country we were living in." She looks up at Serena. "Why aren't you?" Serena holds one hand up, the other shoveling eggs onto her plate.

"Math and me do not mix." Hermione laughs and hands me back my schedule in time for me to hear Ron clearing his throat and pointing behind us. We both turn to see Penny attempting to get our attention. I look at Serena, and with a simple nod, we both stand, walking with our arms linked towards the Slytherin table. There's an odd mix of both quizzical looks (from confused passer-bys as to who we were), confused stares (mostly at our outfits), and just plane glares (you can guess which table those were from). But when we reached where Penny sat between two people-the girl she'd been talking to at the table the night before, with short blonde hair, who was now sporting a large black bow headband (that looked extremely similar to the white one I was now wearing), and a dark boy who was, in a word, _stunning_. Perfect skin, pouty lips. And these chocolate brown eyes that seemed more warm than harsh-a stark contradiction to the grey eyes of his supposed best friend, the blonde sitting across the table from him.

"Morning!" Penny says, standing up and giving us both hugs. I can see quite easily that most of the Slytherins have no idea what we're doing-why we're talking to one of _their people_. I give a glance at the table and try to place a name with most of the faces around the ones I already know for sure. Penny glances down at the girl next to her and then back at us. "This is Tracey, she's one of my housemates." The word _housemates_ rings in my ears. Housemates. Like a reality show turned horribly wrong. Tracey smiles and stands up as Penny ushers us a few feet away from the table, and then Tracey nods to my headband.

"I love your headband," she says, and then smiles. "Topshop?" I laugh, nodding back to hers. I knew it looked familiar. "Great minds think alike. You must be Elle." She looks to the blonde next to me. "And you must be Serena, Penny's sister." Serena nods, and without warning Tracey pulls both of us into hugs. "I'll look after her, don't worry," she whispers hurredly. And for some reason, the words reassure me. When she pulls back, Penny gestures to the dark boy who was seated next to her at the table as we head back a few steps.

"Elle, Serena, this is-

"Blaise Zabini," I cut her off, smiling. He looks a bit startled, and gives a quiet nod.

"My reputation precedes me?" I shrug, smiling at everyone. Serena speaks for me.

"Most of yours do. We've known people at Hogwarts for years. It's almost like we've read about you." Without warning, I stomp silently down on her foot, and she doesn't continue.

"And who the hell are you, might we ask?" A snide, black haired girl looks us up and down. I tilt my head, smiling slightly as I speak.

"Let me guess, Pansy Parkinson?" She looks just as startled as Blaise did. "I'm Elle Major, and this is Serena McAllister, Penny's sister." There's a small coughing sound, and I notice that Malfoy is about to spew pumpkin juice across the table. Pansy, who's seated next to him, hits him on the back, and he sends her a glare before looking back up at us.

"D-did you s-say Major?" I'm genuinely confused by this. Why should my last name mean anything? I give a silent nod and wait for him to respond, but he doesn't. He just wipes his mouth and watches as Serena and Penny exchange schedules excitedly, comparing the two.

"We have second class together!" Penny says, and keeps looking on the schedule. "All our Potions, Care of Magical Creatures and Defense Against the Dark Arts classes, as well as Astronomy." I take back my schedule and note that that's at least one class each day. "And no classes on Fridays means we'll be seeing tons of each other on weekends!"

"_Tons_ is right," Pansy says with a small snicker, and the two girls sitting to her right cackle. I choose to ignore the comment and move on.

"Plus breaks." I point to the small outline of the schedule at the bottom of the page, and Penny nods. "And Hogsmeade weekends once they start up again."

"And you know what that means," Serena says with a sly smile. Penny raises her eyebrows, but after a minute her eyes widen and she grins almost from ear to ear.

"When you three are done with your little gab session," Pansy interjects. "Some of us are actually trying to eat here." Serena makes a face when she turns back to her food and I let out a small laugh, rolling my eyes.

"We're on our way out," I say, and I look at Penny, smiling and pulling her into a hug before turning to walk away with Serena.

"Merlin," I hear Pansy say, and not quietly either. "The blonde's legs, their like ham hocks. I wonder where they got a pig that big to donate that much meat!" Serena stops after a few feet, and after a second of thought wheels around, a smile on her face, like always.

"It obviously wasn't big enough, because it looks like they had to stretch its ass to fit your face." _That's my girl._ My hand flies to my mouth, covering the snort (ha!) that comes out of my mouth, and I see Blaise, Penny, Tracey and Malfoy all trying not to laugh, though Penny and Tracey are failing miserably. I get the feeling I'm going to like this girl.

First class is uneventful; we're listening to Professor Binns drone on about the Giant Wars while Neville, who I'd elected to sit by so Serena could copy some of Hermione's previous notes from the class, snores quietly next to me, when a small paper plane wizzes past my head, landing smack in the middle of Hermione's hair. I feel my eyes widen and turn around, looking for the person who threw it. On my right side, two rows to the back behind some Ravenclaws, Seamus is trying to get my attention. He waves his hand and then points at the plane stuck in Hermione's hair, and I raise my eyebrows. "Read it!" he mouths. I give him a confused look but lean forward, quietly snatching the letter out of it's nest (no offence intended there!), and unfolded the rough creases. How this thing aimed this well, I'll never know.

_Elle_

_Sorry for being such an ass at breakfast. I wasn't trying to be rude. I'm just a dick without my morning coffee. (:_

_Seamus_

I fight the laugh at the back of my throat; I definitely appreciate his use of language (most guys are too afraid to cuss around girls, because they think it'll scare us off, but in reality, I cuss like a truck driver around Serena and Penny, despite my demure nature 99% of the time), and turn back with a grin and a thumbs up. He smiles back, and Dean, who's seated next to him, gives us both an extremely confused look before just rolling his eyes and going back to staring off into space like most of the other people in the class.

Second class, however, does not go as smoothly. Potions should be a breeze for me; it's what I spent most of my summer break doing. And after the fourty minute break spent out on the lawn enjoying the few hours before the storms in the afternoon started and talking about the likelihood of mounds of homework due within the next few days, we tramp down to the dungeons intermingled with people I quickly realize are Slytherins. I quickly spot Penny's dark head next to Tracey's and follow them into class as people are already piling into seats. Hermione, who lets Penny sit with Serena this class, takes the seat I'd been looking at next to Neville, leaving Tracey to sit with a girl I believe is Daphne Greengrass (the prettier out of the two girls left unnamed-and Ramilda was never exactly called _beautiful_ in the books) and me to sit…well, nowhere. I look around, trying to find an empty seat, and spot one three rows back. I see out of the corner of my eye that Seamus, in seeing my discomfort, has stood from his seat next to Dean, grabbing his bag from the back of his seat and starting to make his way over to me. But as I smile and throw my bag next to one of the seats, sitting down, it's not Seamus' skater hair and thick eyebrows I see sliding into the seat next to me. It's a head of white-blonde hair and chiseled cheekbones. _Malfoy._ Seamus reaches the table just as I'm giving Malfoy a _what the fuck _look, and Malfoy glances up at him, waving a hand.

"Get lost, Finnigan. I'm already sitting here." Seamus stops mid-stride and immediately narrows his eyes, but the door swings open in the front of the room and my eyes widen. I look up at Seamus, feverently shaking my head and gesturing for him to go back to his seat near Dean before Snape deducts any points from Gryffindor. I stay silent while Snape lectures us about NEWTs and OWLs, until he announces what potion we'll be making; Draught of Peace. Both Serena and Penny, who've previously not even bothered to look back at me, turn around to where I sit and give me a knowing smile. Then they see who I was sitting with, and identical looks of complete and utter shock comes over both their faces. I playfully glare at both of them, and then roll my eyes as they snicker silently. The second Snape dismisses us to get our supplies, I stand and turn to Malfoy, crossing my arms.

"Can I _help_ you?" I ask in my most snarky voice. He raises his eyebrows as he stands too and tilts his head to the side.

"Such an attitude!" he says sarcastically. I roll my eyes. "Is it such a crime to sit with a new student? To give her pointers on how to create a proper Draught of Peace under Professor Snapes…watchful eye?" I raise my eyebrows. _Understatement._

"It is when you keep her from sitting with her friends." I glance at Seamus, who's now gathering enough supplies for both himself and Dean, and when he turns around and sees me looking, he smiles.

"What's keeping us from being friends?" Malfoy's breath on my neck sends an unexpected tingle down my spine and I fight the shiver that threatens to take over my body. What the _hell_ was that? Malfoy is an ass; a complete and utter butthead that should be taught a lesson via some sort of hex (again). But his voice, both rough but somehow smooth at the same time, sends me into a tizzy. To play along with his game, I turn my head slightly, and realize that Ron, Hermione and Harry, who are standing by the supply closet waiting to get their ingredients, are all looking at us.

"Your pompous attitude and my personal policy not to associate myself with dicks." On that note, I walk over to meet the three standing by the closet, leaving Malfoy standing there with his mouth slightly agape at the fact that I was so brash. It takes a total of fifteen minutes for me to get everything and set up the table in an organized manner (with a playlist of Adele and Ke$ha blaring from my phone into my earbuds), but I'm almost done with the potion as Snape's walking around checking on everyone's progress.

"A silver vapor should now be rising from your potion," Snape says as he walked around, finally stopping at Harry's cauldron with a disgusted look. "Potter, what is this supposed to be?" Malfoy, who's working silently next to me, attempting not to blow anything up, looks around to see what's going on. From what Tracey had told us as she and Penny came to sit with us during break, he's horrid at potions but great at charms and transfiguration; the only reason he's in OWL Potions is because he's Snape's pet.

"The Draught of Peace," Harry responds.

"Tell me, Potter, can you read?" Malfoy laughs, and I throw a bit of Valerian root at him, for which he glares at me. Harry, I see, clenches his hands, which are in his pocket.

"Yes, I can."

"Read the third line of the instructions for me, Potter." Harry looks up at the blackboard where the instructions are scribbled in a nearly illegible handwriting. I'm just glad I didn't have to use them.

"'Add powdered moonstone, stir three times counter-clockwise, allow to simmer for seven minutes and then add two drops of syrup of hellebore." As he finishes, his face falls, and I realize what he'd done; he'd forgotten to add the Hellbore.

"Did you do everything on the third line, Potter?"

"No."

"I beg your pardon?" I narrow my eyes at Snape's back. I could hear him just fine, even in the back of the classroom.

"No," Harry repeats. "I forgot to add the hellebore."

"I know you did, Potter, which means that this mess is utterly useless. _Evanesce._" There was a puff and then Snape, looking annoyed, continued to walk towards us, only peering into Malfoy's cauldron for a second before rolling his eyes and continuing to mine. I glance back at my potion in time to see the liquid in it turn a bright turquoise color, and smile to myself as Snape walks up, peering in. For a moment, he looks utterly shocked. As if he expected me to fail. "Potter, maybe Ms. Granger and Ms. Major should make a joint effort to tutor you this year," he says, prodding the potion with the tip of his wand. He glances at me, and then to Malfoy, speaking more quietly this time. "You could do well to get some help from your new table partner too, Draco. I can't overlook this forever." Malfoy actually seems a bit ashamed, but just looks inside my cauldron with the same shocked look Snape initially had. As Snape walks away, Malfoy looks at me.

"How'd you know how to make it? You didn't look up at the board once." I shrug, and start to bottle my potion into one of the flasks sitting on our table as Snape announces that we need to do just that.

"I stayed with the Weasley's over the summer," I start, and he pulls a face which I roll my eyes at. "We had a few incidences where we needed to use this stuff, and I didn't get my wand until the end of the summer, so I learned how to make potions instead of catching up on the spells you'd learned but we hadn't." And then I realize what I've said; too late, of course.

"Why did you just get your wand at the end of the summer?" Malfoy looks extremely confused, and I try to come up with a cover.

"I broke my wand at the end of last school year. My punishment was a summer without one; not that I could use it without the ministry knowing." I roll my eyes to seem annoyed and pull my "new" wand out, waving it over the remainder of the liquid in the cauldron. "_Evanesce_." The liquid disappears, and I smile to myself, gathering my leftover ingredients to put away.

"You're a mystery, you are." Malfoy shakes his head. "The whole lot of you new girls. Pansy said your friend…Penny, right? Pansy said she was so amazed by the dorms last night; didn't know we had the chargers or anything." I stay silent on that note, though my mind thinks _Neither did I_.

"Aren't all girls a mystery?" I question, and then, with a small smile over my shoulder, walk away, putting my leftover hellebore in the supply cabinet and following my friends towards the Great Hall for lunch. As soon as Ancient Runes is over, I look at my schedule and realize what's next. But it takes actually sitting through it know it's real. And as I watch Harry stand up for himself, being publicly humiliated and punished for the truth that only four of us absolutely know is true, I catch Ron and Hermione both blush as Harry leaves the room, and shake my head, rubbing my temples and looking at the piece of crap book in front of me.

As the five of us (Serena and I, plus the trio) walked back to the dorms early from dinner, avoiding the odd glances from portraits as we went, Harry, Ron and Hermione discussed the gossip in school about Dumbledore and why people didn't believe Harry was telling the truth. The three of them settled into well-worn chairs in the common room, Serena and I tramped up the stairs, throwing our things on our beds, hurredly changing into comfy clothes and walking back down with Tiffie, Serena's Scottie, and Roxy tucked under our bed robes, homework in hand. The trio was in the middle of a heated debate about why Umbridge was teaching that ended when we got downstairs, Hermione pulling out Snape's assignment written on the top of a roll of parchment. That's the one thing I find _really _weird about Hogwarts. Why can't we just use _notebooks_?

Harry goes up to bed around ten, and near minutes later Seamus and Dean arrive in the now-packed common room, occupying the couch Harry had moved too in the time since dinner had ended.

"You four missed it!" Dean says as he sits down, an excited tone to his voice. "Lavender and Parvati gave us all these! Said they're leaving yours on your beds." Seamus digs around in his bag as Dean speaks and produces a small, bright pink slip of paper. Why am I not surprised of the color choice? "They're invitations!"

"To what?" Seamus answers my question with a large grin on his face.

"A party. Friday night. In here."

***certain bits of this chapter are complete quotes from JRK's Order Of The Phoenix. I own none of this, or her characters, only what you don't recognize as canon.**

**Hey guys. Chapter three – you like? I smell a little something brewing between Seamus and Elle. Imagine being a Potter fangirl at Hogwarts. I think my head would explode.**

**Let me know,**

**Holly**

**A Darling Disaster**


	4. Chapter Four: Parties and Pitches

Hogwarts boys are flirts. I'm just going to throw that out there.

I figured going into the year that there was a chance that the three of us were going to be targets of male attention. No, scratch that. I _knew_ that within the first week Serena would have boys lying at her feet. With DD's and natural blonde waves, she was what almost every society deemed beautiful. And walking down the corridor with her and her sister to the classes we had together, I even caught some upperclassmen giving _Penny_ a passing glance.

With Serena, they groveled.

With Penny, they stared.

With me, they _flirted_. I don't know if it's just the fact that I have a naturally easy-going personality, or that I get along better with boys than (most) girls, but I swear, every boy in Gryffindor, at least, aside from my cousin, has made some passing remark about me and my long legs or curvy hips. Hell, by start of school I'd heard so much from the Weasley's about being taller than Harry in heels that I'd refrained from wearing them until school started. Always in a joking matter, the guys in our house made comments about me, my body, my demeanor. The twins were amongst the worst, though the two top contenders were-to my shock-Cormac McLaggen, who while not as attractive as I'd expected, wasn't an eyesore and his attempts could be beaten off easily, and _Seamus_, whose out of the blue comments got more laughter than surprise, and who I didn't really have a problem flirting back with. A tall, skater Irish teenage boy? What more could I ask for?

But there were things that were a bit weird. Like the names. Yeah, nicknames. Back home, girls were built like Penny-rods with B cups and no cellulite. Serena likes to claim that once her boobs got full, she stopped storing fat. But for me, fat liked to fall in places the Weasley twins like to call "galleon spots." My ass, and my boobs. I thanked God that I had C cups that made up for my 40 inch waist every single day, and apparently so did the Gryffindor boys. Because by our first meeting with Dumbledore, Serena and I had nicknames. Less than four days of being at Hogwarts, and we were already Barbie and Bettie. When Seamus had embarrassingly said them across the table, I nearly spit my water out all over our dinner.

"Bettie? As in…Bettie Page?" My eyes widen and I look at the blonde next to me, who giggles and claps her hands together.

"I got Barbie! Yay!" I hit her arm and look back at Seamus.

"Why the _fuck _would anyone call me Bettie?"

"That's why!" he says, laughing. "Because one minute you're all sweet and innocent looking, and then you open your mouth and it's like some sort of truck driver. You have a dark side-it's only right that we give you a nickname that fits that." I narrowed my eyes at him, and then scanned the table.

"Who exactly came _up _with this nickname?" With an embarrassed look on his face, I see Seamus raise his hand and my eyes widen.

"We all helped him a bit," George says, taking a bite of a pumpkin pasty. "Don't take it personally-all the girls have nicknames."

"At least, the important ones," Fred says with a smile, and I roll my eyes.

"So really, though, why Bettie? I'm not a pornstar. And I certainly don't have a bondage fettish."

"That they know about." I smack Serena on the shoulder as she giggles, and the boys (and Hermione) all let out surprised laughs.

"I think it takes a little more than making out to know what you like in bed. But you would know, I guess, dearest friend." Serena shoots daggars at me as the boys stare, and I just take a bite of my pasty. Fred, George, Lee, Seamus, Dean and Cormac, who sat around us, look at each other, before George answers my question for the group.

"We called you Bettie for the same reason we called her Barbie." He gestures to Serena, and then looks back at me. "Have you _looked _in a mirror lately? And Seamus was half-right. You do look very sweet and innocent. But you get around friends-people you're comfortable with-and you turn into this whole different person. It's not a bad thing. But it's what makes you Bettie." I don't know what to say from here.

As soon as dinner is over, we meet Penny at the end of the hall to walk to Dumbledore's office together. He said he only wanted to see me, but the girls, playing true to form as best friends, wanted to walk me there. "What do you think he wants to talk to you about?" Serena asks as we round a corner to the staircase. A couple of what looks to be underclassmen are in a heated embrace on the side of the staircase and break away as we walk up. "Oh don't mind us, we're just heading upstairs." They look at her, confused. "Carry on." Penny lets out a giggle at their flabbergasted facial expressions, and I just shake my head, taking the first few steps up the staircase.

"I really have no idea. All he said was that he wanted to see me in here as soon as I finished dinner."

"Maybe it's just to coordinate meeting dates or something. You've always been the planner-maybe he picked up on that." The staircase starts to move as we make our way up the last steps, and we're forced to take a detour, so it takes another five minutes before we're finally in front of the big bird leading to Dumbledore's office. "Just text me tonight and let me know how everything goes."

"If we can get around that snoop Lavendar," Serena says, crossing her arms. "I swear. That girl was looking for trouble the other day-asking if we were getting special treatment because we were new. I really wanted to be like 'No, bitch. I have to do Snape's essay, just like you.'" I laughed at Serena's imitation of herself, and pulled them into a hug before entering Dumbledore's office. Just like the last time I was in the office, by the time I get to the main room, Dumbledore is speaking to someone. Two people, actually. Both Tonks and Lupin sit in front of his desk, and when I come in Tonks stands up and pulls me into a hug.

"Hello sweetheart!" She pulls away, looking at me in my uniform and giggling. "You sure know how to fit in." I shrug and look down at my black sparkly Toms, and then reach up to adjust the big yellow flower I'd pinned in my hair this morning (after changing the color from blue to yellow, of course-have to fit the house).

"You should have the reactions first night-three new girls, all with crazy uniforms and American accents. It was priceless." Tonks grins and slides her arm around my shoulder.

"That's my girl." We both turn to look at Dumbledore.

"So why exactly am I here?" He gestures to the seats in front of him, and the both of us sit down.

"Butterscotch?" He holds a tin out to us and as usual, I take one. My sweet tooth is my weakness. "Now, Elle. I know you're wondering why your friends aren't here too."

"Kind of."

"Well, frankly, this has nothing to do with them," Lupin says from my other side, and I look at him with raised eyebrows. For the first time, I realize he doesn't look very happy. "And she shouldn't have anything to do with this either. Not yet at least."

"What are we talking about here? Referring to 'this' as some sort of thing is beginning to worry me." Tonks smiles at me, and I look at Dumbledore with raised eyebrows.

"Elle, when you were staying at Sirius', you mentioned something about you and Serena taking some sort of music composition class back at your old school. I'm not mistaken in remembering this, am I?" I look at Lupin with knit eyebrows, trying to remember mentioning being in C.C. And then I realize-I'd mentioned it to Tonks during our day in Diagon. She must have mentioned it to him. I give a small nod, even more confused.

"Yeah, I'm in Choral Comp-but I don't get what that has-

"I said you were different, Elle," Tonks interrupts, smiling. As though different is a good thing, in her head. "I called it, all those weeks ago. And now…"

"Lets not get to ahead of ourselves, Nymphadora." She glares at Dumbledore, and I would have giggled had it not been for the fact that I feel so awkward and confused at the moment. "Elle, you're familiar with the term 'Muse,' correct?" I nod again, and he stares. It takes me a minute to realize what he's getting at.

"Me? _Me_?" He nods, and Tonks does the same, even more enthusiastically. Lupin rolls his eyes. "I'm a Muse?" I look at Tonks, blinking. "What does that even mean? I thought Muses ran around in togas and played the harp and whispered words of wisdom into artists ears." All three people in the room laugh, and now the amount of confusion is making me mad.

"In our world," Dumbledore starts, "a Muse is just like an ordinary witch-they go about doing normal magic." Yes. He said _normal magic._ If only he realized how odd that sounds. "But Muses have an _unordinary_ amount of persuasion over people. They have this ability to bring others towards them, to draw them in-

"Like I said when we were shopping!" Tonks interrupts. But when Dumbledore glares at her, she shuts up.

"Muses are the great women behind the greatest people in history. Even in the Muggle world, some of the greatest works of art, literature, advances in science-they were all inspired by Muses. The Mona Lisa, the Sistine Chapel."

"Some even say Rowena Ravenclaw was part Muse-inspired her three very different friends to create such a great place of learning." Lupin turns around, finally looking me in the eye. "It does explain quite a bit, Elle. You have to admit that." I lean against the arm of my chair, shaking my head.

"You're right, it does. It's just…" I look at Dumbledore. "Why me? Why am _I _a Muse. My mother wasn't. Or isn't, as far as I'm aware."

"I don't believe she was either," Lupin answers for him. "But it can skip generations. Being a Muse…it takes a certain type of girl-someone who knows what to say and how to say it. A girl who's willing to make sacrifices for her friends and family, and is willing to go to any lengths to make sure they're happy and safe, even if that means her own wellbeing is jeopardized."

"Sound like anyone we know?" Tonks sarcasm was noted, but I ignore it and turn back to Dumbledore.

"So what does this mean? For me, I mean. I'm assuming Penny and Serena aren't…"

"They're still special, Elle," he answers, folding his hands on his desk. "Just not in the magical sense. The three of you all hold information that could be the key to defeating Voldemort. Serena and Penny are as vital a part of this whole thing as I expect Ron and Hermione will be." He gives me a knowing smile, and I crinkle my eyebrows together. Obviously someone's mentioned something to him. "But you, Elle. We already know you're going to be a huge part of the defeat of Voldemort. There's a prophecy spelling out your role. And now that we have a general idea of how that's going to happen-how you're going to be the key to Harry prevailing over the Dark Lord-it's time for you to start finding yourself. Learning all the magic you can that will help you be the best witch-and Muse-possible."

"Where'd you disappear to after dinner?" That's the first thing I hear when I walk into the common room. Sure enough, I match the voice to the person correctly in my head and as I come out of the entry way, Fred and George are sitting on a couch in front of the fire, tinkering with a small wind up toy between them. Fred's the one that spoke.

"Dumbledore wanted to see me about some transfer stuff. Said I should consider spending a block with Professor Sprout, since my cousin does so well with her." Both of them pull a face, and gesture me over. "What're you two working on?"

"A new toy. Have a look," George says, and I kneel in front of the table where the small piece of what looks to be plain old plastic, in the shape of a duck, sits. Fred picks it up, winds it a few times, and then lets it go. Suddenly, the plastic duck comes to life, quacking and squacking and flapping all over the place. It takes a few seconds for it to calm down, then it looks around, spotting me and taking a few clumsy steps towards me.

"_Maaa-maaa_." My eyes widen and I look up to Fred and George, completely and utterly shocked. "_Maaa-maaaa_."

"It's so cute!" I say, looking at Fred. He's grinning, just like his brother, and he makes eye contact with me.

"That's the point!" Just as suddenly as it came to life, the fuck goes still, back to plastic. "It's for a line of childrens stuff we've been working on."

"Awh! The softer side of the Weasley twins." Both of them give me a look.

"Anyone finds out," George starts, "and we _will _put a perpetual winding spell on this thing and sick it on you."

"So let me get this straight," Penny says as she and I sit on my bed, watching Serena sort through her closet. "You're a Muse. A _Muse_?"

"A Muse," I repeat, shrugging. "You have to admit, it kind of makes sense."

"How though?" Serena asks, still staring at her clothes. "I mean, last time I checked there were no great works of art modeled after you." I raise my eyebrows at her and hold my hand up, counting up all the instances I've thought of in the last day. In the 24 hours since my meeting with Dumbledore, Tonks and Lupin, I've gone over things time and time again in my head. Being a use makes so much more sense to me. It sounds somewhat conceited, but people have _always _told me there was something alluring about me. It's just that my over-thinking personality and sub conscious wouldn't let me admit to myself that I was special in any way. There's no denying that now.

"I helped Donny write that song about you in middle school."

"That was mostly him though."

"And then that time Lizzy drew me and it won first at state in the art show." I hold up my thumb, pointer and middle finger. "Or when Darren wrote that review on the book I recommended and pestered him to read."

"But those are all things other people did." I give Serena a look, and then share the same look with Penny.

"That's the point, S. Muses inspire other people to do creative things. They can be creative themselves, but ultimately their job is to get other people to do things."

"So what's your next move?" Penny asks, picking up the glass of lemonade I have sitting by the bed and taking a sip.

"I have a meeting with my new 'advisor' tomorrow after dinner."

"But what about the party?" Serena asks, turning away from the closet, alarmed. I laugh and shrug.

"Dumbledore said it should only take about half an hour. Plenty of time for me to get in and get dressed before things become too crazy." Serena shakes her head.

"Good. We all need to look hot."

"I still don't get why I'm coming to this," Penny starts, standing up and going to stand next to her sister in front of the wardrobe. "It's a party for Gryffindors, and I'm a Slytherin."

"So?" I shrug and watch as Penny sorts through the tops hanging in front of her, finally pulling out a dark red tank top with rhinestones around the neck. "I heard Ginny's bringing Michael Corner," I say, making a gagging noise at the thought of seeing Ginny with the Beiber dopple-ganger that she'd introduced me to as we walked back up to the common room after breakfast on Monday. "And a few other people from Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw are coming. Might as well round things out with a Slytherin or two."

"You should wear this," Penny says, holding the top out to her sister, who raises her eyebrows and holds the top up to herself in the mirror, a sultry smile on her face.

"Bring that Tracey girl. I want to get to know her better." Serena hangs the shirt on the outside of her wardrobe. "It'll do." She turns back to me. "Now what're you going to wear?"

Despite what we all may have thought, all the drama at Hogwarts does not, in fact, surround the Trio, though there is quite a bit of talk about Hermione and Krum that was residual from the year before. But nevertheless, we were all surprised to realize that, just like any other school, there's talk of other things. Classes, Professer Umbridge, the new lines of pink robes debuted in Teen Witch Weekly (that last bit was purely from Lavendar as she sat on one of the couches, sipping a Butterbeer). And then there's the talk of other people; George and Angelina, Parvati and Dean, hell, I even overheard someone talking about a couple of Ravenclaws caught together in a broom closet a day or so ago. People talked about who'd had work done over the summer-the magical kind, not surgical. Apparently, Pansy Parkinson had gotten a nose job at some back alley place in Winnipeg. It'd taken three doctors at Mundungo's to get it down to a foot in length, and they'd finally had to call in some specialist from the Ministry to fix it. I was _definitely _using that against her next time she made a comment.

The one thing everyone seems to be talking about, though, is us. It was apparently a very odd thing for new students to start mid way though the cycle. Every time we pass someone in the hallway, there are whispers and stares, as if we can't see them looking. On my way to meet my advisor, I catch a group of what look to be third year Ravenclaws snickering and pointing at me. "Take a picture," I say loudly across the hallway. "It'll last longer." With shocked expressions, they turn and start walking in the direction of the great hall. When Tonks had shown up in our room this morning-a pleasant surprise for the girls, who hadn't seen her since the train station-I was a bit confused when the paper she slipped me on the way out said "Seven-Thirty, Quidditch Pitch." _What could I possibly do to train to be a Muse on a Quidditch Pitch? _A lot, it turns out. When I reach the grassy field, surrounded by banners of alternating house colors, there's only one person on the entire pitch. And that person is Madam Hooch.

I'd seen the woman at the long staff table at opening feast, and nearly every meal since, but never actually spoken to her. But just like in the books, she looks severely feline in the facial features, with short cropped grey hair and a built frame for a woman, and almost scary yellow eyes that are too much like Paige, Serena's jaguar. "Afternoon, Ms. Major." She doesn't even look up from the box she's now standing over. I come around the side, and see it's a box of Quidditch balls, almost identical to the one in the movie. Two bludgers are strapped down on the sides of a large, almost dodge ball looking quaffle, with a small golden snitch strapped to the open lid. I watch as she picks up the free quaffle.

"Good afternoon, Madam Hooch." She turns around, smiling, and throws the quaffle in my direction. I catch it easily, holding it between both hands.

"First thing's first. I'm your advisor, not your teacher. You can call me Rolanda." I knit my eyebrows together and she gestures for me to throw it back to her. Within a blink of an eye it's hurtling back at me. I nearly miss it, and feel a thud as it collides with my abdomen before I grab at it. "You're pretty quick. You've played before, then?"

"Why wouldn't I have?" I assume that it's ever normal child's favorite pastime, but she shrugs.

"Dumbledore said you grew up as a muggle. Some muggle borns come here from American schools never having picked up a broom. Well, a magical one, at least." I shake my head.

"I stayed with the Weasley's this summer." She laughs and rolls her eyes, picking up two long, black brooms and handing me one. I put the ball under one arm and took it, reading the handle. _Comet 301_.

"So you got plenty of play time."

"That I did." I follow her as she walks towards one end of the pitch. "What all did Dumbledore tell you?"

"Not much," she starts, swinging one leg over her broom. "Go ahead and mount. We can talk up there." Without another word, she takes off, flying a good fifteen feet away, in front of the goals. Still holding the quaffle, I swing onto the broom and take off smoothly and getting up to her height. "STAY STILL," she says loudly, pulling out her wand. I barely make out what she says, but then, out of nowhere, her voice is suddenly close. "That's much better." I almost fall off my broom. "Don't look so shocked. It's just a _Sonorous Secritus_ charm. It's so only we can hear each other." She gestures again for me to throw the ball. "Try to make a goal," I hear. With a moment's hesitation, I heave the ball, aiming over her shoulder. She drifts up effortlessly and catches it, but gives me an impressed look. "Not horrible. You've got good aim-just not enough momentum."

"Thanks, I think." She smiles, and throws the ball back. "Is there anything you want to know? Since you're supposed to be teaching me, or whatever."

"I try to make it a habit not to ask anyone information they don't already feel comfortable sharing." I shrug, balancing on my broom and tossing the ball between my hands.

"I don't really feel uncomfortable sharing anything, I just don't know what all I'm supposed to tell you." She gestures for me to throw the ball again, and I do, a bit harder this time.

"Better." She smiles and throws it back at me. "How about why you started at Hogwarts? Why you moved from your other school." I take a deep breath, looking down at the pitch below me. Whoa. Far down.

"That's easier said than done. You want the Cliffnotes version or the long story?"

"Whatever you want," she says in a docile tone. I take another breath.

"I guess the easiest way to explain it is, well, I didn't really know I was a witch until this summer. The three of us, the ones that started here this year-I don't know if you saw them at the opening feast or anything. None of us knew."

"Did your parents not tell you or…?"

"They had their reasons." I throw my ball into the air, and it falls back down, smacking into my hands. "But we knew about this place-I'd heard wonderful stories about all of you from my parents growing up." Okay, lie. I hadn't heard a thing. But it was the easiest way to explain it to her without giving it all away. "Dumbledore finally came to my parents and told them that we were needed-he felt, according to some advice, that we were a part of this whole incoming war against Voldemort." She didn't wince when I said his name, which was a good sign.

"Sounds complicated," she replies simply. I let out a laugh, tossing the ball in her direction. This time she had to swerve a little to catch it.

"You have no idea."

We spend a half hour tossing around the ball, telling stories back and forth about her time at Hogwarts, mine in the Muggle world. Turns out she'd served as a medic in World War II, and had spent more time with Muggles than most of the students or teachers here ever dreamed of. At the end of the day, Madame Hooch unexpectedly makes the announcement that I, Elle Major, am going to try out for Quidditch. As she put the ball back into the trunk, I give her a look.

"But, there are no openings!" And that's when I spot a group of red and yellow clad teens carrying brooms coming out of the locker rooms on the other side of the field, followed by a large cluster of students clothed in plain practice pads, like the ones the Weasley's kept at home. Hooch lets out a long, loud whistle, and then yells across the field.

"Johnson, com'ere." The girl who'd been sitting on the other side of the twins our first night, and who'd been near us at every meal since, giggling at the twins jokes and smiling at everything, came running across the field, her face stoic. She was in the zone already. "Angelina, this is-

"Elle, yeah, we've met." She talks hurredly. "Listen, Madame Hooch, I'm about to start tryouts and-

"I know, Johnson. That's why I'm calling you over." She steps closer to Angelina. "I know the only available position is Keeper, but you really might want to keep Elle in mind for any of the other positions, should they become open later in the year. She's got fantastic aim, and perfect balance on the broom." Giving me a slightly impressed look, Angelina looks down at the broom in my hands and then back up at my face.

"Well, then, let's see what you've got." She leans down and unlatches one of the bludgers, which goes flying into the air with a wizzing sound, and as I'm about to mount my broom, tosses me a bat. I kick off, and watch the people on the pitch shrink into ants. I vaguely hear one of the twins-at this height, it's impossible to hear the difference in voices-scream out a "YOU'VE GOT THIS, ELLE!" So when the bludger comes at me while I'm in center field, I grip onto my broom with my legs as hard as I can, just like the boys taught me, and hit the ball with all my strength. It goes flying back in the opposite direction, and straight through the middle goal on the other end of the field. I can hear the cheers from my friends on the field when I descend and finally touch down. The Bludger comes flying back towards us and Angelina catches it, wrangling it back into the case.

"That was brilliant, Elle!" Ron says, swinging an arm around my shoulder in a brotherly manner. I laugh, looking at Angelina.

"He's right, that was great. And you've never been on a team before?" I shake my head.

"Never even played before this summer. The boys taught me though." Gesturing towards the twins, who were walking towards us, I wipe a bead of sweat off my forehead. It's a cloudy day, but trying to avoid getting knocked off my broom by that ball was hard enough without having to hit it.

"Explains it," she says, holding her hand out for a shake. I shake it, still smiling. "I'll definitely keep you in mind." And without another word, she walks towards Madame Hooch and starts talking to her. I shrug Ron off to give Fred and George hugs-both of them give me huge pats on the back for my impromptu tryout, and I laugh.

"It's all your fault. If I get put on the team, all my complaints go to you!" But I know I won't make it. I know exactly who will, and it doesn't bother me. When I make my way up to the stands, I find the cluster that contains my friends. Hermione, Neville, Seamus, Dean and Serena sit together on a few rows. Neville and Hermione both have long rolls of parchment stretched out before them, like they're working on homework. I just give them an eyeroll and plop down next to Dean.

"That was awesome, Elle!" Dean says, patting me on the back. Seamus leans forward and gives my knee a pat. Through my jeans, my leg gives an involuntary twitch at his touch. I just shrug and turn back to the tryouts, where Angelina is now kicking off into the air.

"Harry's at detention, I assume?" I ask Hermione, who looks up for a split second.

"Yeah. Went right after dinner. Which reminds me." She bends down, rummaging in her bag for a second before pulling out something wrapped in a napkin. "I knicked this for you before they took the food off. Figured since you had your meeting you wouldn't have time to eat." I take the neatly wrapped morsel and pull the napkin away, reavealing a rather large meat pie.

"Oh, God, I love you Hermione." The pie's gone in under five minutes, and we sit in silence, watching the tryouts. When everyone's gone, there's a gathering at the center of the field, and then the players disperse. We meet Ron a few moments later on the outside entrance to the locker rooms. "You were great, Ron!" I say, pulling him into a hug. He's sweaty and dirty, but I don't care. The look on his face when he finds out he's made it will be worth the grass on my tee shirt.

"Elle, can you hand me the hairspray?" Serena reaches across the bathroom with one hand, fingers flailing, while the other hand holds a curling iron in her hair. I toss it at her, and she snatches it out of the air, letting the curl go and instantly spraying it. "Last one, thank God." She stands up off the stool in front of her mirror, which, unlike Hermione's, is not covered in yarn, and glances at me in her reflection. "You look hot," she notes, raising her eyebrows. "Anything I should know?" Lavender turns towards us, the same curious expression. I have an immediate urge to tell her to mind her own business, but just laugh and shrug.

"I just want to make a good impression at the first party. I know it's not that big of a deal, but I want people to stop thinking were some hicks from the south just because we say 'y'all.'" Serena laughs, shaking her head and then flipping it upside down, mussing the curls.

"Well, hopefully after tonight their opinions will be changed. We've spent enough time…" She pulls her head up, meeting my eye in the mirror before continuing. "…watching Skins to know what's up with tonight."

"God, I hope no one brings tabs," Lavender interrupts, smacking her lip-gloss. "If we get busted with fire whiskey, we're screwed. I don't even want to know what McGonnogal would do with drugs."

"I'll keep an eye on things," I start, untying my robe. "I'll be sober enough to make sure no one gets _too_ fucked up."

"Oh, gosh, would you?" She turns around, just as I'm pulling my robe off to reveal what I'm wearing, and her eyes go wide. "Fuckin' Merlin. Are you sure you're just trying to make a good impression? Looks to me like you're trying to hook a boy!" She giggles, touching my shoulder as she walks back into the room.

"I'll take that as a compliment." Parvati smiles, following her friend.

"You really do look great," she says, and there's the sound of the door opening and two pairs of heels (ridiculously high for an in-dorm shindig) walking out.

"You ready for this, E?" I shrug, taking a swipe at a stray bit of powder on my shoulder.

"As ready as anyone can be for their first Hogwarts party."

"Bet you never thought you'd be saying that out loud." I snort, slipping my phone into the pocket hidden in the side of my dress, and she calls out to the bathroom. "Penny, you guys ready?" The door swings open, and a slightly disheveled but still gorgeous looking Penny stomped out, followed by Tracey.

"She's freaking out," Tracey says with a giggle, and I fight my own smile at her slightly Scottish accent. "I tried to help, but-

"Penny," I say, walking up to her and putting a hand on either side of her face. "It's going to be fine." I fix a few stray hairs, swipe at the sides of her eyeshadow, and adjust her bustline so her bra wasn't showing. Much, much better. Holding out a hand to her, she takes the same deep breath as her sister, and with a final look at each other, we walk downstairs.

The reaction isn't immediate. It's slow at first-a few people glancing towards the stairs as four girls walk towards the common room. But once those few people look, the entire room takes notice. This is really the first time we've seen anyone out of uniform, forgiving those we stayed with over the summer and our current housemates. But the other Gryffindors, the other Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs in attendance, they've never seen _us_ out of uniform. Out of our slightly crazy manner of dressing up quite possibly one of the dreariest outfits ever. So when the four of us enter the common room, a slight hush falls over those inside.

It's quite true that all of us have different styles. Hell, out of our group back home, there wasn't a single one of us that dressed alike. But out of uniforms, we all look completely different, with only one thing in common-we know how to look damn good. Maybe it's hours spent trolling fashion Tumblrs, or shopping at Forever 21, but I think it's safe to say we all have the ability to get dressed in the morning, in uniform and out, and still look good. Even Tracy seems to have a serious sense of style, with her chic haircut and purple suede wedges. And that's particularly apparent by all the dropped jaws when we near the bottom of the stairs. It's like slow motion for a few seconds, people just watching. And then suddenly it speeds back up, starting with Harry coming up to us at the bottom of the stairs.

"Merlin, Elle," he starts, shoving a butterbeer in my hand and gesturing for the others to follow. "If I ever have to see that cow Umbridge again, I might slit my wrists." I glance down at his hand, the left one, which currently holds open wounds in the shape of letters, and I cringe involuntarily.

"I understand, she's a real-

"Major!" I turn just as a slightly sloshed looking Angelina comes up to me, patting me on the shoulder with a wide grin on her face. "You did great today. I know you didn't make the team, but…"

"I wasn't expecting to," I say with a giggle, sipping at my butterbeer. Harry looks between the two of us, thoroughly confused.

"Elle tried out for the team today." He looks even more confused, raising an eyebrow at me over his glasses. "She was pretty bloody great too. And if Ron hadn't been up, she probably would have been on the team."

"Angelina…" I whine, slightly embarrassed. I can't have been _that_ good. I've only been playing for a few months. That would be when someone grabs my waist from behind, just enough to tickle, and I jump, effectively sloshing butterbeer all over my arm. "What the-

"Whoa, sorry," Seamus says as I turn around. He's literally five inches from my face, and I can smell the fire whiskey on his breath. There's a cup in his hand, but it's mostly full. He must have just started drinking. By the way he eyes me, he's sober enough to form coherent thoughts. I'm suddenly glad that I wore this dress-with a black velvet bustier and pearly blue skirt, it made my boobs look good and my legs look long. And then a red light goes off in the back of my head. _No, Elle. This is not you. You are not to mess with this world. You are here to observe and be helpful when needed._ Okay, maybe that's exaggerating a bit. But me, having the slightest attraction to anyone at Hogwarts? Hell, any of us being with any of these people. It's like the butterfly effect. You change one thing and suddenly your entire world is different.

_Wait a minute. _Who said anything about being…_attracted_?

"You look…" he starts, raising his eyebrows and cocking his head to the side. "Hot?"

"Is that a question or a statement?" I giggle, raising my eyebrows in return and noticing for the first time that the other girls have since abandoned me. I see Tracey and Penny in the corner talking to some boy in a Ravenclaw sweatshirt, and Serena, no surprise, is perched on the arm of a chair, laughing gracefully and surrounded by a group of boys. I make a quick look for Hermione and spot her – heading up the staircase and looking like she just woke up from a nice nap.

"I'm not quite sure what the right word to use is." He holds his cup in the air, shrugging. "This is my second cup. I mean, I'm Irish, but have you had Fire Whiskey?" I shake my head, shrugging back.

"Not much for a serious drinker."

"This shit is strong," he says, and then proceeds to take a large gulp. There's something about the way his arms ripple when he holds his cup up, and the firm way he plans his feet, that tells me that he is no stranger to a party. And there is definitely something alluring about that. Sure, back in Louisiana we'd gone to a few parties. But because of the big hoopla surrounding underage drinking, it's more "drink to get drunk" and be trashy as hell. Here, at least at this party, it's more drink to socialize and escort people upstairs when they start to get trashy. Well, that's the way it looks when someone (I think it's George) assists an older girl in walking Angelina to the girl's staircase and she carries her up the rest of the way. Seamus, on the other hand, seemed to be able to hold his liquor. "I think the right word," he starts, putting his hand under his chin as if he's trying to be thoughtful. "Is stunning." I feel color flushing my cheeks and roll my eyes instinctively. "No, I mean it. You always look gorgeous, but there's something about a girl in heels." I pop my right foot back, shrugging my shoulders and smiling. "Here." He looks around for a second, and when it seems he can't find what he's looking for, he looks back at me. "You want some?" I stare down at the glass he's shoved in my face.

This was it. One of those pivotal moments where everything could go seriously uphill or seriously downhill. "What the hell," I say, tossing my hair behind my shoulder, throwing the remainder of my butterbeer in a nearby trashcan and taking the glass, tipping it back and gulping down a few mouthfuls. Seamus lets out a low whistle, and before I pull the glass away I laugh, effectively dripping fire whiskey down my neck. "It stings," I gasp, and hold the glass back out to him, trying to wipe away the alcohol that's slowly flowing towards my chest.

"Hold on." He takes a step towards me, and with his thumb, wipes away what's left on my collarbone. I feel myself shudder, and manage to look up just in time to catch his gaze. "I was – uh…" He seems to have lost his words, and I cock my head to the side, smiling. "I was wondering if –"

"Elle!" Suddenly, my hand is snatched from my side and I'm pulled away from Seamus by a red faced Fred, who's grinning and breathing heavily. "They're working!" he shouts, and I look back at Seamus, who's still standing right where I'd left him, his mouth hanging open.

"What is, Fred?" I give Seamus a pained smile and mouth "sorry," looking back at Fred and trying to listen to what he's saying. But unfortunately, just as suddenly as it'd entered my body, the Fire Whiskey was beginning to take effect, and my attention span was beginning to drop. Quickly.

"The Skiving Snackboxes! Your idea to package them all together, all the sick treats – it worked!" There's a small thought in the back of my head, way back there behind the thickening alcohol cloud, that wants to tell Fred that it wasn't my idea at all. "We've sold fifteen already, at six Galleons a piece!" Suddenly, he picks me up by my waist and twirls me around, and I fight the urge to puke all over him. Instead, I go for a slightly cuter approach. I laugh, and when he puts me down and pulls me into a hug, I hug him back. "First Hogsmeade weekend, I'm buying you whatever you want. Within reason of course." He grins again, and leans down, kissing my forehead. "You're amazing." Before I can say anything back, someone calls his name, and he yells back, running off in their direction. After regaining my senses, I look back to where Seamus was still standing; now looking almost…wounded. And before I get a chance to walk over and ask what'd he was "wondering," he turns and walks away, disappearing into the party crowd.

"What was that all about?" I turn around, and Serena stands behind me looking confused.

"Just me ruining any chance I had with Seamus." She lets out a little scoff and looks at me.

"Seamus?" Serena crosses her arms, looking at me intently. "I thought you said we shouldn't get involved with anyone in this world. And Seamus? Really? Isn't he a little too…I don't know, Irish?" I can't help but laugh, and I think I overdid it a little bit, because she puts her hand out on my arm like she needs to steady me. "Are you…drunk?"

"No no no," I say, waving her away and stumbling to sit down in an empty fold out chair next to a side table. "I just had a few sips of Fire Whiskey. From Seamus. Seamus is…I don't know." I gesture for her to come closer, and she does, albeit apprehensively. "He's not a main character, ya know?" My voice is low and hoarse, like I'm sharing a dark secret.

"You are such a light weight!" she giggles, shaking her head. "It's Seamus, Elle. You do realize he's not even talking to Harry right now, correct?"

"And he won't be for a while, I know, I know." I wave her away again, and look at my feet. _I picked some damn cute shoes_, my scattered brain says. She has a point. I did say we shouldn't get involved. Before we started at Hogwarts, as we sat in our room at Grimauld Place, I'd said that we needed to be careful who we got involved with. What we said, what we did. _Who_ we did, if you'll pardon the vulgarity. But Seamus…JK never said what happened to him. His relationships, his actions, they never really effected the final outcome of things. So suddenly, he didn't seem so dangerous to me.

"And what about Fred?" Serena looked a lot like me, all of the sudden - with her hands on her hips and a stubborn look on her face. "With that little kiss?" I laughed, a little hysterically, mostly because of the hilarity of her proposal.

"He was thanking me," I drawled, and felt up for Serena's hand, grasping it. "It's Fred. He's like our big brother."

"Just be carefull, Elle." She looked down at me with a sad smile. "You've said it to me so many times, now it's my turn to say it to you." Serena crouches down, holding my hand tighter and using her other hand to touch my face. "This is all you've wanted, all we've wanted, since we were kids. But you more than any of us. And I know, I know you want so bad to be a part of this world, to realize what your role is and figure out this whole muse thing. And you will, in time." She smiles sadly, tucking a piece of hair behind my ear. "But just guard your heart, Elle. It's so open to all of these people, the ones you feel you know. And I think we can all agree that this world, this one we feel like we've been a part of, is so different than we imagined."

"Truth really is stranger than fiction," I mutter, and Serena nods. "How about that?"

***certain bits of this chapter are complete quotes from JRK's Order Of The Phoenix. I own none of this, or her characters, only what you don't recognize as canon.**

**Alrighty, everyone. So you've stuck with Elle through the first four chapters and her first party at Hogwarts. Good for you, reader. YOU GO, READER! Now, get ready for chapter five. It's cray cray, people. Cray. Cray. Elle's got some real 'tude coming in the next few bits. WOOHOO sassy Elle!**

**Let me know what you think,**

**Holly **

**A Darling Disaster**


	5. Chapter Five: Backbone

Monday, when I finally drag myself downstairs for breakfast, Serena is already sitting across the table from Dean and Seamus, who are both stuffing food into their mouths. "Are you two trying to make yourselves sick, or are you worried it's going to disappear?" I had barely spoken to either of them that weekend; we all had an alarming amount of homework, and when we weren't scribbling away, Hermione had volunteered us to help her make socks and hats for her SPEW efforts.

"We don't want to be late for History of Magic," Dean says around a mouth of toast. "If that cow Umbridge is in there inspecting again and we're late, Merlin knows what'll happen to us." I halfway glance at Seamus, my mind flashing back to the party, sitting down with Serena. I didn't speak to him after that - he was pulled away by Lavender and Parvati, who were hostessing with the assistance of some equally as slutty looking 7th years. I still wanted to know what he'd been "wondering."

"Probably the same thing that's happening to Harry," Serena mutters under her breath. I pinch her leg under the table and she yelps, glaring at me before going back to the Daily Prophet she's inspecting. I'm still getting used to it, I suppose. The moving pictures, ghosts roaming the hallways, using magic in class instead of the periodic table. I scoop some eggs and a few sausage links onto my plate, beginning to eat quickly so I'm not late either.

"What's happening to Harry?" Dean asks finally, swallowing his food and wiping his face with a napkin.

"He's been in detention for the last week with Umbridge, ever since that outcry in DADA." Seamus is the one who explains this, and I am mildly surprised at his docile tone. "If he honestly believes-

"Of course he honestly believes," I cut him off, aghast. I should have known the comment was coming, but it still got under my skin. "We honestly believe _him_." I gesture between myself and Serena.

"Clearly." There's a sarcastic tone to Seamus' voice, and I don't like it. "It's just that there's no proof."

"No _proof_?" I utter, astonished. "It's not like Fudge, _The Prophet_ or anyone else has any proof to the contrary."

"So you're saying that we should believe Harry just because there's no way to prove he's lying?" I still don't understand how Seamus could let his crazy mother's opinion influence his belief in Harry. The same person who's saved more people than he can count on both hands. But why does this surprise me? It shouldn't. Nothing here could. But it's different now. It's not words on a page. It's real life. And whether he felt the same way about me, Harry Potter was slowly but surely becoming one of my best friends (_there's_ something I never thought I'd say), and I was going to stick up for him.

"Let's not do this," Dean says, and I look at Seamus across the table. "Everyone has their differing opinions."

"Well," I begin, picking up my bag off the floor and moving to sit up. My plate is still half full, but at this point, I'm so enraged, embarrassingly enough to myself, that I've lost my appetite. "My differing opinion and I are going to read until class. Good luck with Umbridge." I pull my bag on my shoulder. "Oh, and for the record," I begin, looking straight at Seamus. "We go to a school for witchcraft hidden with spells in the hills of Scotland, surrounded by merpeople, centaurs and God knows what else. So the next time you ask for _proof_, remember what world you're living in." And with that, I stomp out of the Great Hall, with various eyes following me as I do so. I hear Dean let out a low whistle, just as I pass Hermione.

"Elle, what-" I run past her, not wanting to explain myself, and I bury my nose in _The Selection, _one of the many books sitting in the bottom of my trunk, until History of Magic starts.

However, it's not Seamus that has to worry about Umbridge. Because when I sit down next to Hermione at the cold, dark lab table we were assigned in Arithmancy following lunch, the Frog Queen herself is standing next to Professor Vector, clipboard in hand, her usual sickeningly sweet smile plastered to her face. "You have got to be kidding me," I mutter under my breath, and bury my head in my arms on my desk. This is the last thing I need after this morning, and Hermione must be able to tell, because for a brief moment, she strokes circles on my back.

"You really did a number on Seamus this morning," she begins with a laugh. "When I went to sit down he looked like he'd been slapped." Then, suddenly, she stops rubbing my back. "Elle," she whispers.

"Hmm?" I take a deep breath, pulling my head up and pushing my hair back from my face, and then nearly scream. Umbridge is literally standing half a foot in front of me with that creepy ass smile, her clipboard clutched to her chest by a white-knuckled hand, her knees bent so she's eye level with me.

"Miss…" She refers back to her clipboard, and I exchange a worried glance with Hermione. "Major, is it?" I nod silently, feeling my blood beginning to pump faster. "Is it customary for you to take a nap during this class?"

"I was just-

"Yes or no?" I raise my eyebrows, affronted.

"No."

"No, what?" She raises her eyebrows back, and I cross my arms, squaring my jaw.

"No, Professor Umbridge, ma'am."

"Good." She laughs, her annoying, high pitched, nasally laugh, and I feel an involuntary shudder go up my back. "Than I suggest you keep your head off your desk and your eyes forward, lest you want your professor being marked off for inattentive students." I glance back at Professor Vector, who, I kid you not, rolls her eyes at Umbridge's words. I fight the urge to do the same as she turns and walks to the front corner of the room, where she awkwardly pulls a chair out from a table and sits down. I let out a breath of relief as Vector calls the class to attention, and look at Hermione.

"Well, I never," she huffs, crossing her arms and sitting back in her seat. "She is so rude!" I giggle, amused by Hermione's obvious distaste of Umbridge, and sit back in my seat. This was my first _real_ confrontation with someone from this world. Sure, Seamus and Malfoy kind of counted. But those were minor. I felt like I was beginning to create my story line, my own actions, separate from the trio, from Dumbledore, and from my friends. And it felt good.

On my way out of class, Hermione and I begin to discuss Percy's letter, the one he had sent this weekend, warning Ron to stay away from Harry and anyone associated with him. I didn't know what to be more insulted by – the fact that Percy was trying to tell Ron what to do, or that he was insulting myself and all of Harry's friends. "Miss Major?" I stop in my tracks, halfway out the door, at the sound of the nasally voice behind me. I shouldn't have stopped. I should have just kept going, and pretended that I didn't hear her. But I didn't. So I turn around to see Umbridge walking towards me. "Will you please follow me to my office?" I feel my eyes going wide, and I look at Hermione. "You are not in trouble, Miss Major. I just have a few questions for you." I nod, and follow her out of the door, glancing back at Hermione, who gives me a helpless look. Silently trudging behind Umbridge, I pull my phone out stealthily and group text Serena and Penny.

_Umbridge is making me go to her lair. _

Penny McAllister: _Uhm…_

Serena McAllister: _WUT. WHY._

We round a corner, and I realize we're outside of the DADA room. _Details later_, I respond shakily, and put my phone in my bag, following Umbridge up the stairs and into her alarmingly pink office. The curtains are pink and lacy, and there are doilies under everything on her desk, creating an almost patchwork tablecloth. She walks straight to the corner, putting her clipboard down on her way there, and pulls a teacup out of a cabinet. "Tea?"

"No, thank you." Slowly, she walks back to her desk and sits down, placing the cup on a plate and delicately pouring tea into the cup from a silver teapot on the side of her desk. "This is lovely silverwear," I comment, my hands twisting in my lap. Why the hell am I here?

"Thank you, dear." She gives me her creepy smile, adding sugar to her tea and then taking a sip. All the sudden, she seems to relax. She sits back in her seat a little more, and the lines in her face smooth out slightly. "Now, about why you're here." She sets the cup down, looking at me. "From what I understand, you, Miss Major, are new to Hogwarts." Scooting back her chair, Umbridge opens a drawer and pulls out a fuscia colored folder marked "Transfers" in thick cursive. "You, along with two other young ladies. A…" She opens the file, and I see my picture paper clipped to a large file. She pushes it aside, and two more files become visible – Serena and Penny. "Penny and Serena McAllister?" She looks to me, and I nod, confirming her statement. "What I would like to know, Miss Major, is why the three of you are just beginning your magical education." Tapping her finger expectantly, she stares me down, and I squirm in my seat, unsure of what to say. This woman is a Muggle hating, self righteous, brown nosing elitist who honestly believed that Cornelius Fudge walked on water. What can I say to her that wouldn't make her hate me, or Penny and Serena?

"Our parents wanted us to have an appreciation for the Muggle way of life," I begin, and her nose crinkles. Before she can make a snide comment, I continue. "They taught us at home, but we went to Muggle school."

"But they all attended Hogwarts, yes?" She references her file to make sure she's corrent.

"Yes, they left shortly after were born."

"And why is that?" I tilt my head, confused by her line of questioning. What did any of this have to do with me falling asleep on my desk? Or was I here for a different reason? A fire of indignation lights in the back of my brain. She called me here to give me the Spanish inquisition because I didn't fit her little Hogwarts student mold.

"Frankly, Professor Umbridge, I don't think that's any of your business." It's out of my mouth before I can stop it, and there it is; the line in the sand. The moment, I realize, that will probably put me at arms length from this woman for the rest of the year. And at that moment, it doesn't feel like too bad of a position. She seems shocked by my response, and her eyes narrow. "I don't mean any disrespect, but it really isn't. The fact of the matter is, we're here."

"That can be easily changed," she says, and I let out a little chuckle. "You find that funny? You are aware, Miss Major, that I have been appointed the High Inquisitor by-

"The Minister of Magic himself, yes, I'm aware," I finish for her, fighting the urge to roll my eyes.. "I'm not a threat to you, Professor Umbridge, just because I won't answer your questions. You'd be surprised, maybe, to learn that there are students here who value their privacy." She opens her mouth to speak, but I cut her off again. "And no amount of Veritaserum will make me think otherwise." Before I can stop myself, I stand up, hitching my bag onto my shoulder and looking at her. "Is that all you wanted?" Regaining her composure, she stood, her hands pressed against the desk for support.

"Miss Major, I suggest you choose your friends wisely in the coming months. Things are going to change here, whether you, your friends, or Dumbledore, whom I suspect is your supporter in coming here, like it or not." She walks do the door, opening it, and I give her my best smile.

"I look forward to watching you try."

"You said _what_?" Hermione shrieks from across the table at dinner, while Ron, Neville, Serena and Harry howl with laughter.

"I'd have loved to have seen the old bat's face when you made that crack about Veritaserum," Serena giggles. I give her a knowing look, rolling my eyes and taking a bite of the chocolate pudding in front of me. I'm avoiding looking further down the table, at Seamus more specifically, who looks more and more like a wounded puppy each time we make eye contact. He's seated strategically between Lavender and Dean, both of whom look totally unaware of his melancholy. "Have y'all talked since this morning?" Serena mutters to me. I shake my head, pushing my now empty bowl away and digging in my bag for my chapstick.

"Is he being a git to you too?" Harry asks, and I realized for the first time that he'd heard what Serena had said. "Because I swear, Elle, I'll-

"It's fine Harry," I assure him, reaching over the table and giving his bandaged hand a gentle squeeze. He gives me a questioning look. "We got into a fight this morning."

"About what?" Neville questions, and I shrug.

"Harry." They all look confused, so Serena elaborates.

"Elle was backing you up about the whole Voldemort thing." I see Hermione and Neville involuntarily shudder, but Serena presses on. "I just think this is total bullshit – all the crap Umbridge is putting you through."

"It's a load of waffle." The voice comes from behind me, and I turn to see Penny standing there, flanked by Tracey. Laughing, Serena and I stand and hug her. "Hi everyone," she waves at the rest of the group, looking somewhat sad.

"Hey, Penny," Ron grumbles around a mouth full of pastry. She giggles at him and waves, and then looks down at the two of us.

"You two free tonight? I was wondering if we could do a little studying in the library." By the look on her face, we can tell that studying is not what she had in mind. So after going back up to the room and changing, we meet her in the herbology section of the library, which, miraculously enough, is not inhabited by Neville. In between girlish shrieks and giggles, I tell her what happened this afternoon with Umbridge, Harry's second round of detention, and finally, how close we are to the formation of Dumbledore's Army.

"I can almost taste it," Serena sighs, sitting back in her chair and running her hands through her hair. "I just wish Seamus would get his shit together."

"I wish he'd stop being such an ass about Harry," I say in agreeance.

"I wish he'd just ask you out," Penny mutters, and I let out a surprised laugh.

"What are you talking about?" I question, and the twins look at each other and roll their eyes.

"Elle, you should have seen him at the party," Serena explains, leaning forward with her hands clasped. "His eyes were glued to you."

"My boobs, maybe." Serena lets out an unladylike snort, and Penny continues for her.

"Maybe, but he looked like he'd been shot when he saw Fred kiss you on the forehead." I didn't even know Penny had seen that, much less that she'd noticed Seamus' reaction. "He's got it bad."

"And then this morning, with you defending Harry." Serena smirks. "Maybe you're the reason he gets his act together. He's still being a prick about it, though."

"Well, that's his problem," I brush it off, shrugging. This information was new - I'm still processing it, pulling my feet up onto the chair and wrapping my arms around my legs. "How do we even handle this kind of stuff?" I ask aloud after a minute. The other two are looking outside; it's about to rain and the clouds are moving in quickly. "How do we know what to do so we don't royally screw everything up?"

"We don't know," Penny says, turning around and reaching over to me, placing a hand on my arm. "Maybe it's just me, and this separation from you two, but I've had some time to think about what we're doing here." She leans forward, resting her elbows on her knees. "There's a reason we are here. The three of us, specifically. There is a reason it's us, and not some random unknown hand helping these people." I begin to catch on to what she's saying, but Serena speaks before I can.

"Because we _do _know." She gives us a smirk, shaking her head. "Maybe not _everything_. But we know what it takes to see that this war ends the way it's supposed to." Serena looks at me, taking a deep breath. "We may screw up, Elle. And I know that ticks your perfectionist side off. But who knows. If we screw up…"

"Maybe we can do some good in the process," I finish for her, smiling. I think about all the people, then. All the ones we know are supposed to die. Some needless. Some needed. Some purely because it was an emotional plot twist. Sirius. Dumbledore. _Tonks_. "Maybe Seamus does like me." I grasp for a subject change, eager to rid myself of the thoughts swimming in my head.

"There's no maybe about it." I look to the left, where the voice comes from. Ginny is just rounding the corner, and slips into a wooden chair at a nearby desk, taking a breath. How long has she been there? "Do you three mind if I stay? I swear, I may strangle Michael if he goes for one more kiss." We all share a collective shrug.

"Seamus and Lavendar are always together," I counter. It's true. The two of them are always sitting with Dean and Parvati, chattering about the latest castle gossip. Penny rolls her eyes.

"Because he knows that none of us will listen to him bitch about Harry. Dean only barely tolerates it," Serena says, shrugging.

"And how would you know?" I raise my eyebrows at her, and she blushes, looking down at her hands.

"We're friends," she mutters, and Penny and I scoff. "What? We are! We talk about Quidditch and British music."

"Sounds like a solid friendship to me." With little effort, she punches me in the shoulder, and I just shake my head. This is what I've missed the last few days. After years of spending all of our time together, a week apart made so much of a difference. And what it would do to the three of us in the future...what good were the three of us if we never saw each other?

"He's just not sure where to put his loyalties," Ginny cuts back in, shrugging a shoulder. "Dean is his best friend, but his mum is seriously worried about all this stuff with the ministry. Especially since he's half muggle."

"I always forget that bit," Serena says, and then seeing the looks we give her, backtracks. "I mean, I always forget he told us that. But Dean has no idea where his magic is from. He's in more danger than Seamus and he's still civil to Harry."

"Be that as it may," says Ginny, looking at me. "With you around he's sure to change his mind. Just let him see the world that Voldmort is creating. It'll scare him witless." The three of us nod in agreement - the longer it takes for Seamus to come around, the more horrors he will see around him.

I wake up the next morning to the sound of Fred's voice. "Elle, wake up. It's nearly breakfast. You're gonna be late." I open my eyes, squinting in the light. The light. Wait, where am I? I sit up, realizing that I was completely passed out in the common room all night. Scattered around me on the floor sit my pieces of parchment where I've attempted to scribble a Bowtruckle for Care of Magicle Creatures. "You fall asleep down here?" Fred bends down, starting to shuffle all my papers together into his hands. I make an attempt to smooth my hair, standing to help him.

"Yeah, we were working on this stupid Potions essay and the others went upstairs. I stayed down to finish my sketch and must have..." I look back down at the couch I'd been lounging on. Despite my disarray, I actually did rest well last night.

"Well, you were snoring quite nicely." I take my papers from Fred, rolling my eyes. "Really, it was beautiful. Your mouth was a little open like..." He mimes laying back on the couch, and I punch him in the arm, embarrassed. If he'd seen me knocked out, who else had?

"You finally up?" Ron and Harry come bounding down the stairs, smiling. "We were wondering when you'd realize you weren't in your bed." Ron dodges the arm I swing at him, and I huff, heading towards the girls stairs.

"Y'all are assholes," I mutter, and the three of the burst into laughter. They find our mild accents so amusing, meanwhile the three of us spend most of our time drooling over theirs. Annoyed, I stomp up the stairs to get ready. Serena and Hermione are the only two still present when I get to our room.

"Sleep well, princess?" I throw a small pillow at Serena, which she dodges. What is with my aim today? "Better hurry; we've got Transfiguration first and word is Umbridge will be there." I groan, mentally preparing myself for another encounter with the she devil.

"No more outbursts this time," Hermione pleads, tieing her hair back into a braid. "Please. I don't want to see you with your hand all bandaged up like Harry's. It's a miracle she didn't give you detention last time."

"I'm fully aware," I mumble, stepping into the bathroom and examining myself in the mirror. There are lines on my face from the couch, and my hair looks horrendous. Not even wanting to bother with it, I grab a hair tie and twist it into a knot on top of my head, and rush to get dressed before we go downstairs.

It's very apparent when we arrive in Transfiguration that this was going to be another Umbridge showdown. I hastily make my way to my usual desk, tossing down my bag and waiting for Hermione to sit down next to me. "Do'ya mind if I sit here?" I don't have to look to know who's speaking, but I do anyways. Seamus stands over me, a hopeful smile on his face. "You don't have to let me, but I-

"No, go ahead." He grins, and plops down in the seat next to me, just as McGonagall stomps into the room. Umbridge is already seated in the corner, and I bare myself, giving a helpless look to Hermione, who's just sitting down next to Serena. This was either going to be really funny, or really painful to watch.

"Look, I'm sorry about-

"It's fine, Seamus."

"Would you quit cutting me off?" Starteled by his tone, I turn, and he looks serious for once. Over his shoulder, I see Lavendar handing Dean a mouse, which he promptly holds up by its tail to examine. "Am I allowed to finish my sentence, or?" He tilts his head defiantly, and I nod. "Thank you. Now, I know you're not the biggest fan of me right now. And, it looks like you're a pretty big fangirl of Harry's, so-

"I am _not_ a fangirl!" I say, almost loudly enough for the rest of the room to hear. Hermione, I notice as I glance behind me, looks taken aback by my outburst. Serena lets out a snort. Seamus gives me a look that plainly says "you're interrupting me again." "Sorry…"

"Whatever you are to him, I don't care." I open my mouth to speak again, to say that I'm nothing to him but this weird girl that popped into his life this summer, but he gives me the same look and I promptly close it. Right. Shutting up. "I'm not saying I think Harry is a bad person. What I am saying is that bad things tend to follow him, and it's incredibly convenient that You-Know-Who-

"Voldemort," I mutter. He chooses to ignore me this time.

"Is back, even though Harry was supposed to have 'defeated' him," he says, making quotes around the word defeated, "our first year." He looks like he's searching for words, and we both watch Dean poking at his mouse's stomach with his wand.

"Dean Thomas, if you do that to the mouse again I shall put you in detention," says McGonagall indignantly, snapping us back into focus for class. Lavendar, passing us, hands us each a mouse. Mine is fluffy, with sandy fur the same color as Roxy. Seamus', dark and squirming, fights to get out of his hand as he pulls out a sheet of paper and writes while McGonagall continues talking. He taps the paper a moment later, calling my attention to it.

_Agree to disagree? I'd rather us be mates than fighting._

I smile to myself, and then look at him and nod, just as Professor McGonagall begins speaking quite irately to Umbridge.

"I wonder how you expect to gain an idea of my usual teaching methods if you continue to interrupt me." I use the hand not holding the mouse to cover half my face, concealing a smile. I take notice that Serena is doing the same behind me, and Harry, behind her, looks quite amused as well. She doesn't interrupt for the rest of the class, and as we're walking down to Care of Magical Creatures, I finally feel a little more relaxed.

That is, until a snide voice from behind me yells "Hey, Major!" I stop in my tracks, making a confused Penny, Tracey and Serena do the same, and as I turn, I feel my nostrils flaring in annoyance.

"Yes, Malfoy?" My hands ball into fists automatically as he approaches, flanked by Crabbe and Goyle. He was hot, yes. But after the way he and his pals had spoken to Penny our first few days here, I don't think I could quite make myself be kind to him.

"What, have I already managed to evoke your wrath? I didn't realize it was that easy to get it to come out and play." He raises his eyebrows suggestively. "And please, call me Draco."

"Seriously, _Malfoy_, what do you want?"

"I simply want to know," he says, crossing his arms, "why the daughter of Renee and Aaron Major is _just_ starting at Hogwarts." I take a quick breath, throwing a panicked look at Serena and Penny. Malfoy steps closer, less than a foot away from me. "From what I've heard, your parents were some pretty serious witches and wizards." He gestures to Penny and Serena in turn. "The whole lot of you should have started when we did. So why, prey tell, are you so late?" How did he know my parent's names? And why did he care when the hell we started at Hogwarts?

"Not that it's any of your business," Serena cuts in, a sharp edge to her voice, "but our parents left for the states because of all the drama going on when we were born."

"If I remember correctly," I say, crossing my arms as tightly as he is, "it was drama that _your_ father was involved in." Somewhere in the back of his eyes, a little fire lights, and I smirk to myself.

"So your parents ran away like children?" I feel my jaw tense, and breathing heavily, I step closer to him, my eyes narrowing.

"Our parents left because your father and his fellow Death Eaters created such a dark and evil world that they didn't want to raise their children in it." I pause, feigning stupidity for a moment. "But I guess that explains your outlook on life." He opens his mouth to speak again, eyes blazing brighter than before, but he's cut off by Hermione, who's since come up .

"I think you've been here before, _Draco_." She sneers his name. "It ended with me slapping you across the face." I am utterly flabbergasted by her tone, but it gets the point across. He steps back, rolling his eyes. I feel like throwing Hermione a party in celebration of the return of her backbone.

"You Mudbloods think you're so clever." He looks the lot of us girls over before side stepping around me. Crabbe and Goyle do the same.

"I'd rather be a clever Mudblood than a pompous, elitist pureblood any day," I throw after him, and flip his back the bird just for good measure. Sure, we were purebloods. But Hermione and Harry and Neville…they're some of my best friends. My family. And that name stings me as much as it does them. He turns around just as I do so, and narrows his eyes, ignoring me.

"Elle," Hermione gasps, pulling my hand down. "You don't always have to result to vulgarity!" I roll my eyes at her, sighing and pushing my hair out of my face.

"Why does he have to be such a twat?" Tracey says, hitching her bag higher. Ron and Harry, who have since miraculously appeared, let out grunts in agreement. "He's been like that as long as I've known him." We all look at her, confused. "Our families have been friends for a long time. That's how he knew your parents, too, Elle."

"What do you mean?" Penny questions, as thoroughly confused as the rest of us. We approach the clearing near Hagrid's cabin and find a patch of grass to sit in.

"When I was little, our families have always took holiday and had parties together. Us," she gestures to Draco, who is leaning against a large boulder with Crabbe and Goyle, "the Malfoys and the Greengrasses." She points to a tall, fair skinned girl in a cluster of Slytherins. Her hair is long, dark and shiny, and held back by a dark velvet headband. So that's Daphne Greengrass. I wonder if her sister, the future Mrs. Malfoy, is as pretty as she is.

"So what does that have to do with my parents?" I question, crossing my legs beneath me. It was quite a task, let me tell you, to do so without flashing the world my underwear.

"There are all these pictures on the walls at the Malfoy's," Tracey explains. "Most of them are painted, these big, gaudy portraits of the three of them. But in one of the rooms there are some pictures in frames. There's one of this group of kids, sitting on the bleachers at the World Cup pitch. I asked my mom once who everyone was." She gives me a small smile. "It was her and her brother, they're twins too." She nudges the two other girls. "And then Lucius, Bellatrix Lestrange." She pauses. "You know who that is, right?" We all nod, and she moves on. "Bellatrix's sister, Narcissa, Draco's mom. Their other sister, Andromeda, is in there too, I think, but they don't talk about her much. She married a muggle born, I think." Tracey rolls her eyes, and I shake my head in annoyance with that side of the family. "Regulus Black is in there, Sirius's brother." I'm momentarily shocked, but then I remember - Regulus started out as a Death Eater. Before I have time to process my next thought, Tracey speaks again. "And then there's your mum." I am dumbstruck.

"My m-mom?" I stutter. "What in God's green earth was my mother doing with all of them? No offense," I correct myself quickly.

"None taken," Tracey says, waving her hand. "Most of 'em are gits. My Uncle Igor is, that's for sure."

"Your uncle is Igor Karkaroff?" Ron says, stunned.

"Not the point, Ronald," Hermione retorts.

"I think they were all in Slytherin together," says Tracey, shrugging. "Not all in the same year, obviously. There's a couple more pictures with her in it. But from what I gathered from Mum, your mum's family and the Malfoy's were close when Lucius was young too. He has his arm around her in the picture." I splutter, as does everyone else, and suddenly feel a bit nauseous.

My mother. My mother was in Slytherin. She was friends with Lucius Malfoy. She was _close_ with Lucius Malfoy. And she'd told me nothing. I realize, suddenly, that I know very little about my parents - our parents - and their time at Hogwarts. And the looks Serena and Penny give me let me know that I am not the only one who will go to great lengths to find out more.

It's well past midnight in our room that night, and just as I'm about to pass out my phone buzzes. It's Serena, texting me to tell me she hears voices downstairs that sound like the trio. I stumble out of bed, like I had Saturday morning after the party, with a bit of a headache and a little disheveled thanks to the news Tracey had given us, and sure enough, when I make it down the stairs the three of them are sitting on the couch in the common room.

"But this is much more important than homework," Hermione's voice says, and I feel myself let out an involuntary gasp.

"There's something I never thought I'd hear come from your mouth!" I round the corner and the three of them look at me, seeming to let out a breath of relief that it's just me and not a stranger listening to their private conversation.

"Hey Elle," Ron says, and pats the seat next to him. I plop down, wrapping my knees with my arms and taking in their conversation. "I didn't think there was anything in the universe more important than homework!"

"Don't be silly, of course there is." Hermione rolls her eyes as if it's practically the most obvious thing in the world. "It's about preparing ourselves, like Harry said in Umbridge's first lesson, for what's waiting for us out there. It's about making sure we really can defend ourselves. If we don't learn anything for a whole year – "

"There's not much any of us can do by ourselves," I say with a shrug, and look at the others. "I mean, without an actual teacher…"

"No, I agree, we've gone past the stage where we can just learn things out of books," Hermione agrees. "We need a teacher, a proper one, who can show us how to use the spells and correct us if we're going wrong."

"I don't think you mean any of the teacher's you've had, do you?" I say, in hopes of moving the conversation along. Helping Harry realize what we're talking about.

"Who, then?" Harry asks, and I give him a "duh" look.

"Isn't it obvious?" Hermione huffs. "I'm talking about you teaching us Defence Against the Dark Arts." Harry just stares at us, confused. Maybe this muse stuff is a little harder than I thought.

"But, I'm not a teacher, I can't – "

"Harry," I interrupt, "the stories I've heard, the things people have told me about all the brave things you've done, you'd be an amazing teacher."

"How d'you mean?"

"Let's think," Ron says, pulling a face to concentrate. "Uh... first year - you saved the Philosopher's Stone from You-Know-Who."

"But that was luck," says Harry, "It wasn't skill –"

"Second year," Ron interrupts, "you killed the Basilisk and destroyed Riddle."

"Yeah, but if Fawkes hadn't turned up, I –"

"Third year," says Ron, louder still, "you fought off about a hundred Dementors at once –"

"You know that was a fluke, if the Time-Turner hadn't –"

"Last year," Ron starts, and he's almost shouting now, "you fought off You- Know-Who again –"

"Listen to me!" Harry shouts, and I'm taken aback, but Ron and Hermione look almost jolly. "Just listen to me, all right? It sounds great when you say it like that, but all that stuff was luck - I didn't know what I was doing half the time, I didn't plan any of it, I just did whatever I could think of, and I nearly always had help." He pauses, looking at all of us again. "Don't sit there grinning like you know better than I do, I was there, wasn't I?" he hisses. "I know what went on, all right? And I didn't get through any of that because I was brilliant at Defence Against the Dark Arts, I got through it all because - because help came at the right time, or because I guessed right - but I just blundered through it all, I didn't have a clue what I was doing -STOP LAUGHING!" As he yells, a small bowl of a yellow liquid fell to the ground, and Crookshanks runs under the couch in an orange blur.

"You don't know what it's like! You - neither of you - you've never had to face him, have you? You think it's just memorising a bunch of spells and throwing them at him, like you're in class or something? The whole time you're sure you know there's nothing between you and dying except your own - your own brain or guts or whatever - like you can think straight when you know you're about a nanosecond from being murdered, or tortured, or watching your friends die -they've never taught us that in their classes, what it's like to deal with things like that - and you two sit there acting like I'm a clever little boy to be standing here, alive, like Diggory was stupid, like he messed up - you just don't get it, that could just as easily have been me, it would have been if Voldemort hadn't needed me –"

"We weren't saying anything like that, mate," Ron starts, shocked. "We weren't having a go at Diggory, we didn't - you've got the wrong end of the –"

"Harry," Hermione says quietly. "don't you see? This... this is exactly why we need you... we need to know what it's r-really like... facing him... facing V-Voldemort." This is the first time I've ever heard her say Voldemort's name. "Well... think about it? Please?" Harry looks slightly embarrassed by his outburst, and sits back down. "Well, I'm off to bed," she says, in a strangled voice. "Erm... night." Ron stands up awkwardly.

"Coming?' he asks Harry.

"Yeah," Harry says, and then glances at me. "In... in a minute. I'll just clear this up."

He points to the small bowl in pieces on the floor.

"I'll be up in a minute too," I say to Hermione as she makes it to the staircase. "Let Serena know, okay?" She nods, and when they're both out of earshot, I turn to Harry. "You okay?"

"Yeah." He pulls his wand out and points it to the shards on the carpet. "Reparo." The pieces fly back together. "Well. No. But I'll live." Harry leans back into the couch, letting out a deep breath.

"Is it really living if you keep it all pent up inside?" He gives me a sidelong glance, and leans forward into his hands like he's suddenly exhausted.

"No offence, Elle, but this is your first year here. You haven't been here…" He struggles for his words, and then looks up at me with a pained expression. "You haven't been here to see everything we've been through." I feel a pang in my chest. _Oh, sweetheart. You have no idea._ And he really doesn't. He has no idea just how many people - children, adults, elderly even - have seen everything he's been through. Have felt their breaths hitch and their hearts ache at the mumble of a curse aimed at someone he - _they_ - love. All because of him. Because of this world. This world, which they think is fictional. And before I can stop myself, the words roll out of my mouth.

"Harry, you'd be surprised at just how much I've seen." I reach out across the space between us and put my hand over his wounds, protecting them. "I may not have been here, but in a way I can't really explain to you, I know what's happened these last few years." I smile, and touch his nose with my free hand. "How you went from a lonely little boy under the stairs, to this brave, loving gentleman you're becoming." He knits his eyebrows together.

"But, how-"

"I can't tell you," I say with a smile. "But don't underestimate us, your three new friends. I know, we haven't been around that long. But I promise you we know just as much, if not more than some of the people who surround you. And I can assure you that we are some of the strongest allies you will ever have." He looks more confused the longer I talk. "Our goal," I start, and I grip his non injured hand. "My goal – is to make sure that you succeed." I let go of his hands, and stand up, with him following. I pull him into a tight hug, and even though I can feel that he's still lost, I lean away and look at him, grasping his head between my hands. "We're with you, 100%, Harry. Don't forget that."

"Happy belated birthday!" I say in delight, handing Hermione a small, wrapped package two weeks later as we sit at breakfast. Her eyes widen as she takes it, surprised.

"You didn't have to get me anything," she says matter-of-factly. I shrug.

"I would have given it to you sooner, but I kind of forget. Then the other day, I was sending Molly her birthday card and Penny suddenly said 'Wasn't Hermione's birthday last month?'" I glance at the group around us, and Ron, Fred and George look like they've swallowed fish. Ginny is smiling smugly at her brothers. She sent her present with my card.

"Mum's birthday's passed?" Ron says, looking horrified. He's got a piece of toast halfway between his plate and face. I nod.

"It was Thursday. I take it you forgot?" The three of them nod in return as Hermione begins to tear at the wrapping paper of her present, revealing my copy of _The Selection_. "It isn't much, but I know you'd mentioned wanting to read it." She grins across the table and squeezes my hand.

"It's perfect, thanks!"

"What's perfect?" Harry, looking slightly disheveled, sits down to my left and begins snatching up food.

"Elle's birthday present," she says, holding up the book. Harry's eyebrows knit together.

"When was your birthday?" he asks, looking as though he's trying to remember some distant thought.

"September 19th." She rolls her eyes. "So, unappreciated," she mutters to herself.

"Oy," George says from a few seats down, "Happy Birthday."

"Yeah, Happy Birthday!" Harry speaks around a mouth full of food. "You're now officially an old maid." Laughing, she throws a piece of bacon at him. The last two weeks have been like this - easy and fun, the only thing annoying us being Umbridge's droll class. But today, at Hogsmeade, things will change. Serena, Penny and I have been anticipating this day since the beginning of the year. And now, it's right within reach.

"I just wish Seamus had come to his senses about today," Serena says as we trudge through a thicket of leaves, sitting unraked outside the Hog's Head.

"You and me both," I mutter. "Do you know how hard it's been having a conversation with him without mentioning Harry?" I shake my head. "Maybe he's right, maybe I _am_ a fangirl." I'm about to say something about using my Muse powers (if I knew how to use them) to convince Seamus to join. Then, I remember Tracey is there, and backtrack. "Not in that way," I say, laughing. "I just mean, we all spend a lot of time together, and…" Tracey, Serena and Penny look at me, amused.

"Would you like a shovel for that hole you're digging?" quips Tracey, and I shake my head, laughing again.

"All I mean is it's hard to sit there and talk to him when I know he still doesn't believe Harry."

"Well, that's why he's not here today," Hermione says, catching up to us. Ron and Harry aren't far behind. "We don't want anyone here today that doesn't believe Harry." I smile, hitching my arm through hers.

"You've definitely got our support," I chirp, and reach out to squeeze Harry's forearm as we pull open the door to the Hog's Head. It is, as expected, dark and grimy on the inside, with dirt covered floors and surfaces everywhere. "This is…"

"Charming," Penny finishes for me, tucking her dark hair behind her ear, and I give her a grateful smile. While we wait for others to begin arriving, I quietly sip at a cold butter beer, handed to me by a bearded man behind the bar.

"Aberforth looks good," Serena says quietly, hiking her foot up on the edge of my chair. I nod, glancing at him. He's wiping away at a dirty glass with an equally dirty rag, looking out a window with a dreamy expression. _Is he thinking about Arianna_? I can't help thinking to myself. The thought pops into my head before I can stop it and immediately, it flashes with images I wish a second later I could erase. Dumbledore, withered and weak and facing Malfoy up on the balcony.

"Oy, Elle!" A voice calls me out of my thoughts, and I shake my head, horrified by where they'd gone. I look up to see Fred, staring down at me quizzically. "You looked rather dazed. Everything alright?" I sigh and shrug, watching other students pile in and get drinks from the bar. Harry is watching Cho with such attention it's almost comical. He looks so adorable, looking after her like a little puppy dog.

"It's just been a long few months," I say, and Serena and Penny nod in ascent. Finally, the weight of everything is coming down on me as the first big event of this year - this saga - is beginning. It seems like we haven't even had a chance to just sit down and breathe everything in until now. It's all just been whooshing past us, and we haven't yet enjoyed living in this world yet.

Fred, looking curious, pulls up the chair next to me and plops down. I lean over, resting my head against his shoulder, and feel him tense momentarily as Serena, Penny and Tracey all give me girlish "ohmygod" looks. I roll my eyes, finding his shoulder to be quite comfortable. I take sip of the butter beer in my hands.

Suddenly, the room gets very quiet. I notice, for the first time, that everyone's looking at Harry, and I know that the show is about to start. It isn't until after Hermione begins the meeting, Zacharias Smith, who's a little blonde annoying twit and not at all like I pictured him to be, calls Harry out for "proof" about Voldemort being back, and Susan Bones asks Harry about producing a corporeal Patronus that we're involved in anything.

"Yes," he answers her quickly, "but so can Elle, Serena and Penny." I feel my face burn slightly when the entire group turns to look at the three of us, and I see Tracey inching away from the attention at a slow but noticeable rate.

"You never told me that!" Lee, who's sitting behind me, says to Fred with enthusiasm. "You might have mentioned it when we were talking about…" He trails off, seeming to realize that he was not supposed to be mentioning this in public. Fred glances at me, flushes pink, and then throws a glare at Lee.

"Mom told us not to spread it around," he says. "She said Harry got enough attention as it was, and that the girls wouldn't want to start out on a pedestal."

"She's not wrong," Harry murmurs.

"She's right," the three of us say at the same time Harry speaks. We all look at each other, and then break out into an awkward laughter with the rest of the group, unsure of where to go from here.

"And did you kill a Basilisk…" Terry Boot breaks the silence, blessedly, and I catch the eyes of the people in the room flicking to us occasionally. Over the last few weeks, the "weirdness" of being the new kid has slowly died down. But now, eyes were back on us.

When the scroll goes around for us to put our names on, I sign mine with the biggest flourish I can muster. This is it, I think. I am a member of Dumbledore's Army. Not that any of them know that's what it is yet. The excited charge around Penny, Serena and myself is almost palpable when we walk out, flanked by Tracey and Neville, with the trio close behind. We make our way to the High Street as the weather begins to turn sour, listening to Ron and Hermione discuss Ginny's relationship with Michael. Hermione turns into Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop, so we follow. I find myself thumbing over rows of blank journals, bound in gorgeous leather and stamped with various patterns.

"Maybe this will help us keep things straight," I say to Serena, pulling one covered in grey leather with an owl in the corner. Tracey and Neville have abandoned us to look over some Herbology scrolls, embedded with leaves and petals. "Now that we can't read the books, we can at least write down what we remember so it doesn't all just go poof." I make an exploding motion with my hand at the side of my head, and Penny comes up behind me, pulling out a dark green journal emblazoned with the Slytherin crest.

"I'm already a part of them, I might as well start repping it." Serena and I roll our eyes, but Penny just shrugs and finds a fuchsia one for her sister, silently handing it to her.

"She just couldn't keep her eyes of you, could she," we hear over the row, and Hermione, Ron and Harry come around the corner just in time for Harry's face to go all dreamy and goo-goo eyed. I press my lips together to keep from laughing, but Hermione rounds on me next.

"So now that we've covered the other two budding relationships, what's going on with you and Seamus?" I splutter momentarily for words. Well, that was up front, wasn't it? Neville, who's rejoined the group, looks just as horrified by the question as I feel.

"There's something going on with you and Seamus?" he says incredulously, and I immediately feel an immense sense of admiration for Neville. Despite my being an only child, he's always been like a big brother to me, and seeing him upset about me being involved with a boy makes me feel very loved.

"I plead the fifth!" I throw up my hands, and then realize that no one aside from Serena and Penny, who, thankfully, laugh, get the reference from our fathers' law vocabularies. "I refuse to say anything that will incriminate me in the future." Pushing past Ron and Harry, I make my way to the counter to buy the journal in my hands, but everyone follows. Drats.

"Seriously, though," Ron begins, coming into my view. "Is there something going on?" I bring my hand to my head, agitated.

"I don't know, Ron. Honestly, I have no idea!" I pull out my change purse, fishing out a Galleon, eight Sickles and nine Knuts to hand the woman at the counter.

"I thought you and Fred…" He trails off, and I turn back to him, wide eyed.

"What makes you think that?" He shrugs, looking embarrassed, almost like Lee had back in the Hog's Head.

"I saw him kiss you at the party, and then today, you had your head on his shoulder and…" He stops again as I give him a look of complete and utter deadpan.

"Ronald, I have just about as much interest in your brother as I do in you." I tap his nose as his face visibly brightens. "Absolutely zero." His face falls again, and I laugh.

"But about Seamus," Hermione cuts back in, and I glare at her.

"He's been a right git to Harry, you know," Neville says indignantly, and I give him an exasperated look. Tracey speaks before I get the chance.

"Because she _doesn't_ know that." I like her. I really think I do. She's got quite an attitude that fits in very well with the rest of us.

"I'm just saying," Neville responds, holding his hands up in defense from the blonde in front of him. "We've lived with him for five years now." He gestures to Ron and Harry. "Seamus can be a stubborn mule sometimes." The other two boys nod in agreement, though Harry still seems somewhat dazed in his own little world. Oh, the things Cho does to him.

"He'll come around," says Penny, swinging an arm around my shoulder and putting her payment for her journal on the counter. "I know he will." There's a part of me that knows she's right. That knows that months from now Seamus will come to his senses and agree with Harry, and even go to the last D.A. meeting. But that part of me, however large it may be, is severely overshadowed by another part that does _not_ want to deal with that drama. Something deep down says that I'm probably a large factor in his sudden change of heart. On the surface, however, logic tells me that one more layer of Elle on top of being a new student, a new muse and a new hero to the wizarding world probably isn't a good idea.

I secretly hope that logic shuts up.

***certain bits of this chapter are complete quotes from JRK's Order Of The Phoenix. I own none of this, or her characters, only what you don't recognize as canon.**

**HELLOOOOOO everyone! **

**Welp, how have you all been? School, work, etc? **

**How'd you like the new chapter? Let me know, please, I would love reader feedback. I'm particularly proud of Elle in this chapter – what with Umbridge and all.**

**Much love,**

**Holly**

**A Darling Disaster**


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